Agencies seek $1.17 billion in enhancements, documents say

State agencies filed a total of $1.17 billion in requests for funding over and above the governor's budget caps as part of their "agency requests" budgets.

The details of the so-called "items for special consideration" were released by the budget office Friday and posted on the budget office website at budget.nv.gov

Of that total, $419.25 million would have to come from the General Fund. The majority of the money would be federal funding increases, much of it - particularly in Health and Human Services Department - leveraged by smaller amounts of state cash.

Health and Human Services listed $776.5 million in proposed enhancements, just $89 million of that coming out of the state's coffers.

The total requests would require the addition of 1,136 more state employees.

The Governor's Office of Economic Development filed what, at least initially, appears to be the largest list of requests from the General Fund - $60.6 million each year of the coming biennium for a total of $121.2 million.

GOED Director Steve Hill said the request was an "of money was falling out of the sky" number but that, if he could get that kind of funding, he could generate significant economic development for the state.

GOED's number was even bigger than the enhancements sought by the state Department of Education, which, for the two-year budget cycle, totaled $83.1 million.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, who initially didn't want the list of requested

enhancements released, declined to say whether any of the cuts suffered

by state workers would be restored. He said "the budget is an ongoing

process."