Reid and Gibbons to address Legislature

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., will address the Nevada Legislature this week.

Among the topics they are expected to address is President Bush's plan to take money from Southern Nevada public land sales and put it into the U.S. treasury. That money has gone to environmental projects, conservation and education in Nevada since the land sales act was passed.

Those land sales last year raised more than $700 million for programs in Southern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe basin. Next year, the total is expected to exceed $1 billion.

President Bush wants to take the money to reduce the $527 billion deficit in his budget, which both Gibbons and Reid have said they will fight.

Under existing law, 5 percent of the land act money goes for education in Nevada, 10 percent for water infrastructure and 85 percent for conservation, parks, recreation and environmental projects, including acquisition of sensitive lands.

Gibbons wants to change the act to give 35 percent to education and eliminate land acquisition from the formula.

He said the federal government already owns 91 percent of the land in Nevada, and that percentage is growing because of that acquisition money.

Gibbons is proposing the change to stop the federal purchases of land in the state and to replace education funding lost by the elimination of the estate tax. Estate tax money Nevada receives is now split between public schools and the university system, each of which counts on about $30 million a year from that source. Gibbons is one of the sponsors and biggest supporters of eliminating the estate tax.

Both are expected to discuss the effect of the president's proposed budget cuts on Nevada. Social services groups and Gov. Kenny Guinn say some of those cuts - particularly in Medicaid - would cause problems for seniors, the disabled and low-income children, among others. And officials of Nevada's small counties say the proposed reduction in Payments in Lieu of Taxes to counties containing the most public land would hurt them.

However, Bush's budget proposes at least one welcome reduction: the cut in funding for the Yucca Mountain project, which some say is a sign the administration is beginning to give up on the project.

n Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.

If you go

What: U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., will speak separately before joint sessions of the Senate and Assembly.

When: Reid will speak at 5 p.m. Wednesday; Gibbons will speak at

5 p.m. Thursday

Where: Legislative Building, 401 S. Carson St.