Nevada governor hands lawmakers budget with deficit

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo replaced his budget chief just days before Nevada lawmakers convene on Feb. 3 for their regular legislative session, where they will discuss the governor’s budget proposal.

The same day he made the announcement, Lombardo, a Republican, faced criticism from Senate majority leader Nicole Cannizzaro, a Democrat, for proposing a deficit budget.

Lombardo’s proposed $12.7 billion budget, she said in a budget subcommittee, would create a $335 million deficit. The state’s constitution requires lawmakers pass a balanced budget.

Democrats retained control of both houses in Carson City in November, continuing the divided government that has existed since Lombardo’s 2022 election.

“I have been here for a short bit, and I cannot recall a time where the governor sent the Legislature a budget that just simply didn’t add up,” Cannizzaro, an eight-year veteran of the state Senate, told the Nevada Independent. “I’m very worried about what this process looks like going into the legislative session, and how we fix this, and pass a budget.”

Lombardo announced in a press release Tuesday that he had promoted Tiffany Greenameyer to director of the governor’s Office of Finance, replacing Amy Stephenson.

“Tiffany’s deep expertise in budget and fiscal issues will be a tremendous asset, and I look forward to her leadership,” Lombardo said in a statement.

Greenameyer was deputy director for fiscal services at the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, where she provided oversight over fiscal, audit, budget development and contracting activities. She has worked in high level state positions for more than 20 years, including as deputy director in the Governor’s Finance Office, according to the governor’s office.

The state has a part-time legislature and meets every two years for a 120-day session to approve a biennium budget.

In his roughly 45-minute State of the State speech Jan. 15, Lombardo proposed making teacher pay raises permanent, splitting the state’s health care agency, enhancing crime-fighting and spending $1 billion on housing.

Lombardo’s fiscal 2025-27 budget represents a 9% increase from the last budget, but he says the state has accrued a record-high reserve fund of $1.3 billion.

In contrast, the state rainy day fund reached $904 million headed into budget negotiations for the 2023-25 biennium, Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine told The Bond Buyer at the time.

Lawmakers have until June 2 to pass a budget. The process, which involves separate bills for major budget priorities, usually begins with passage of the K-12 education budget bill, then a bill funding state agencies, and finally a capital improvement budget.

Nevada general obligation bonds are rated at the AA-plus level across the board, according to the State Treasurer’s Office.