LEGISLATURE: Flowers, good will on Day 1

CARSON CITY - Bagpipes throbbed and bouquets perfumed the legislative chambers Monday morning, a sweet start to what promises to be a difficult 76th legislative session rife with drastic budget cut proposals and a state economy struggling to gain footing.

Longtime retired Sen. Joe Neal leaned back in the seat of his daughter, freshman Assemblywoman Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, before the ceremony. The elder Neal retired in 2004 after serving 32 years in the Legislature, but his youngest daughter took office Monday as the first black woman elected to the Assembly.

"She's much smarter. She reads a lot," Neal said of his only child to enter politics. "We used to have heated debates in the house."

Children young and old were prevalent in the corridors and legislative chambers. Dressed in their best attire, many tugged at their clothes and fidgeted in their seats as legislators introduced their guests and took their oaths before getting down to business.

As strollers rolled through the hallways, the state's looming budget deficit, estimated between $1.2 billion and $3 billion - depending on whose numbers are used - seemed temporarily forgotten.

Janie Oceguera, wife of Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, bounced their son Jackson on her lap in the Assembly leadership office before the opening day ceremony. Like many families of southern Nevada lawmakers, the Ocegueras will be separated during the week; mother and son plan to fly up to Carson City on weekends on what Janie calls the "Southwest commuter bus."

"He gets so excited when dad comes home - he starts kicking and screaming," Janie Oceguera said of 1-year-old Jackson. "I ask, why doesn't he do that for me?"

Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz, D-North Las Vegas, is awaiting her own first child, due this Saturday. She promised to get back to work as soon as possible after the baby comes.

Diaz, a freshman, is part of a changing face for the state Legislature. This year's class includes the most Hispanics in Nevada's history - six in the Assembly and two in the Senate. It also includes 21 true freshmen, comprising one-third of total lawmakers.

In the weeks ahead, legislators will grapple with Gov. Brian Sandoval's proposed budget, which includes $1.6 billion in cuts that affect everything from probation officers to property tax assistance for seniors.

"All of them are difficult," said Senate Minority Leader Mike McGinness, R-Fallon.

"This is one quick breath before submerging ourselves in long days of difficult decisions. Our work will be fodder for future campaign mailers," Oceguera said. "But we can't afford to be timid. It's better to be criticized for doing our job than criticized for failing to act."