MINUTES OF THE meeting

of the

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS AND

SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES K-12

 

Seventy-First Session

May 4, 2001

 

 

The Ways and Means and Senate Finance Joint Subcommittee on Human Resources/K-12was called to order at 8:20 a.m. on Friday, May 4, 2001.  Chairwoman Chris Giunchigliani presided in Room 3137 of the Legislative Building, Carson City, Nevada.  Exhibit A is the Agenda.  Exhibit B is the Guest List.  All exhibits are available and on file at the Research Library of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

 

 

ASSEMBLY MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

Ms.                     Chris Giunchigliani, Chairwoman

Mr.                     Morse Arberry Jr.

Mrs.                     Barbara Cegavske

Mr.                     Joseph Dini, Jr.

Mr.                     David Goldwater

Ms.                     Sheila Leslie

Ms.                     Sandra Tiffany

 

SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT

 

            Senator Raymond D. Rawson, Chairman

            Senator Bob Coffin

            Senator Bernice Mathews        

            Senator William J. Raggio

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT:

 

None

 

STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT:

 

Steve Abba, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst

Bob Guernsey, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst

Bob Atkinson, Program Analyst

Georgia Rohrs, Program Analyst

Linda Smith, Committee Secretary

Lila Clark, Committee Secretary

 

BUDGET CLOSINGS

 

Bob Guernsey, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst, Fiscal Analysis Division, Legislative Counsel Bureau, stated there were four budgets to be closed -- the three regional developmental services centers and the Southern Food Service.

 

 

DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES (MENTAL RETARDATION)

BUDGET PAGES MDHS-37, MHDS-43, MHDS-51

 

Mr. Guernsey said the Governor’s budget for the three regional centers recommended an increase of 13.2 percent in FY2002 and an additional 7.7 percent in FY2003.  A number of elements were contained in the budget that dealt with the Olmstead litigation. 

 

• Decision unit M-202 - deleted six Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR) beds from the Desert Regional facility and transferred the funding to community placements.  This resulted in the deletion of seven positions and an overall savings of $10,356 the first year and  $73,426 in the second year.  Mr. Guernsey said the conversion seemed consistent with the Olmstead decision.  It was proposed that 12 ICF/MR beds be deleted from the Sierra Regional Center located in Sparks and the funding transferred to the community.  This resulted in an additional cost the first year of $126,257, but a savings in the second year of $278,414.

 

• A number of growth elements were built into the budget in addition to the base.  Mr. Guernsey referred to a chart (Exhibit C) that provided detail by region and the number of beds.  The 1999 legislature approved a phase-in of additional beds over the current biennium and the adjusted base included funding for all those beds.  Growth and potential waiting list items were addressed under decision units M-200 and E-431.  The growth in the number of clients served was estimated to increase from 2,588 to 3,242.  General Funds to support the recommendations increased to $1,523,319 in FY2002 and $3,943,529 in FY2003.  The department and the Budget Office recommended including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds into a number of Human Resource’s budgets.  The net effect added slightly over $1 million in TANF funds into the regional budgets over the biennium.  In order to meet the reporting requirements, the Governor’s budget requested a .75 full‑time equivalent (FTE) position.  Based on a review of the estimated volume of paperwork, the division was now requesting that the position be increased to a full-time position.

 

The Governor’s budget did not include any rate increases for providers within the three regional budgets.  However, funds for potential rate increases were located due to some hard work by the department and division staff.  Mr. Guernsey referred to a handout (Exhibit D) that provided detail on the suggested rate increases.  There were a number of technical issues involved.  First, the funding for the rate increases was contained within the Medicaid budget – the funding for the normal rates, which was ongoing for the operation of the programs, was contained within the three regional budgets.  When the Medicaid budget was closed some funding would have to be transferred from that budget and placed within the three regional budgets if the subcommittee approved the rate increases.  The total over the two years was $2,757,000, of which $985,000 was federal funds and $1,772,000 was state General Funds.  Mr. Guernsey suggested Dave Luke review the packet with the subcommittee and stated Debbra King and Dave Luke deserved a great deal of credit for the extensive work put into developing the document.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani said both she and Senator Rawson wanted to thank Dr. Luke and Ms. King for “grinding the numbers” to arrive at the much-needed rate increase.

 

Dave Luke, Ph.D., Associate Administrator for Developmental Services, Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, Department of Human Resources, stated decision unit E-350 included in the Medicaid budget funded discretionary rate increases to all Medicaid providers.  Staff reviewed the “payer type” in the Medicaid budget called 38, which related to the Mental Retardation Waiver Program, and determined there was a total of $3.6 million, state and federal funds, over the biennium  -- $1.3 million in the first year and $2.2 million in the second year budgeted for rate increases.  The state share was $1.8 million over the biennium.  Over the biennium the cost to the General Fund was $455,000 to provide a 1 percent rate increase for residential providers, group care providers, developmental homes, community training centers, and for the providers of respite care to families.  In summary, if there was $1.8 million in General Funds in the Medicaid budget and the cost was $455,000 for a 1 percent rate increase, there would be funding possible for a maximum of a 3.18 percent increase in the first year and that would increase 4.6 percent in the second year.  For the first year, the information presented would propose a 3 percent rate increase which was slightly lower than was funded, but the second year it was a little higher than included in the original table.  The net effect was that the General Fund impact would be within the dollar amounts identified in the Medicaid budget.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani said when the subcommittee addressed the Medicaid budget, adjustments would have to be made to make up some of the dollars.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani then asked if any of the providers wished to comment.

 

Edward R. Guthrie, Opportunity Village, Las Vegas, Nevada, asked the subcommittee, when making final budget decisions, to think in terms of equity for all long-term care providers because what Opportunity Village offered was a type of long-term care for people with severe disabilities. 

 

Mr. Guernsey stated the Governor’s budget dealt with the caseload increases that the division had been able to project and had adequately dealt with the waiting list based on the numbers presented to staff.  The Governor had made a firm commitment to deal with the caseload contained within the recommended budget.  The one element that was missing was a potential rate increase, and the agency had come up with a suggested increase.  Staff made the following recommendations:

 

·        Increase funding for the Sierra Regional Center for a .75 FTE position for TANF reporting to a full-time position based upon the reporting requirements.

 

·        Close the budget for the Desert Regional Center as recommended by the Governor.

 

·        A technical adjustment was made for building rent in Elko and would include a mixture of funding sources.

 

Senator Rawson wanted the record to reflect his appreciation to Debbra King and Dave Luke for their hard work.  Early in the session, it was thought to be a virtual impossibility to find funding for provider rate increases -- the budgets were being cut by $150 million and the efforts of Ms. King and Dr. Luke were phenomenal.

 

ASSEMBLYWOMAN LESLIE MOVED TO CLOSE THE THREE REGIONAL CENTER BUDGETS WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS.

 

MRS. CEGAVSKE SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Dini and Mr. Goldwater were not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGETS CLOSED.

 

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SOUTHERN FOOD SERVICE - BUDGET PAGE MHDS-33

 

Mr. Guernsey referred to the Southern Food Service, Budget Account 3159, and said staff recommended closing the budget as recommended by the Governor.  However, staff asked for permission to complete final adjustments once all the budgets that the center provided food service to were closed, which included the Southern Nevada Child and Adolescent Service budget, the Sierra Regional Center, and the Las Vegas Mental Health Center. 

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE SOUTHERN FOOD SERVICE BUDGET AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GOVERNOR AND ALLOWING STAFF TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.

 

MS. TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. 

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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WELFARE ADMINISTRATION - BUDGET PAGE WELFARE-1

 

Steve Abba, Principal Deputy Fiscal Analyst, Fiscal Analysis Division, Legislative Counsel Bureau, stated the Welfare Administration budget had a number of issues the committee would have to address.  The first issue, which was not included in the budget but had been discussed a number of times, was the proposal by the division to restart the Online Automated Self-Sufficiency Information System (OASIS).  The OASIS project was approved by the 1999 legislature but was placed on hold because of costs and a change in scope.  The Welfare to Work program was transferred to the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, a component of the former Welfare to Work OASIS Project.  There were also some concerns related to the implementation.  At the last hearing the division had asked to use the $2.2 million TANF High Performance Bonus to restart the OASIS project.  Exhibit E provided information on the implementation and design approach.  There were few changes to the overall design of the project, which would be a server-based environment.  The implementation approach was slightly different than what had been discussed before the 1999 legislature.  At that time, there was a determination made to use a contractor to develop the software, which was going to be an off‑the‑shelf purchase and then be modified to fit Nevada’s needs.  The current approach was to use Master Services Agreement (MSA) contract programmers and DoIT support.  The costs added to the budget were $1,967,300 in FY2002 and $365,300 in FY2003.  If the decision point was approved, modifications would have to be made in the budget dealing with second year maintenance costs in the amount of $225,000, which would be reduced.  

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani reminded the subcommittee that Congress was currently reviewing the federal bonus dollars and an award would more than likely be received this session. 

 

• Decision unit M-581 - included the additional projected costs for administering the Nevada Operations of Multi-Automated Data Systems (NOMADS) project for the upcoming biennium.  Mr. Abba advised the subcommittee that there would be adjustments to the category based upon the DoIT cost allocation that was not reflected in closing recommendations.  The division had discussed their proposal for migrating the NOMADS system to a server-type based environment.  Technical adjustments were made to eliminate the development costs for the Voice Response Unit (VRU) that would not be needed because the program had been implemented.  In response to a question posed by Chairwoman Giunchigliani, Mr. Abba said the $225,000 recommended to be eliminated was 34 percent General Fund dollars and 65 percent child support money.

 

• Decision unit M-584 pertained to the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) System.  Mr. Abba said he had broken the decision module into two separate decision points:

 

1. The first decision point dealt with the administrative staff that had been recommended for the EBT unit.  Four new positions were recommended -- an Administrative Services Officer to manage the project; a Management Analyst III, a policy-type analyst, to look at the project’s long-term implications and possible migration into other areas; an accountant position to reconcile the EBT transactions; and a clerical position.  Mr. Abba reminded the subcommittee that they had previously approved six positions in the Field Services budget.  Those positions would be EBT coordinators and would be located in the field.  The division gave up 11 positions to help fund the additional costs for the EBT system.  A management analyst position had been approved by the 1997 legislature to spearhead the efforts of implementation of the system and that position had been filled.  Staff thought it was important that the division have the EBT administrative staff but recommended that the new management analyst position that would be part of the team not be approved.  The existing management analyst position could fulfill the duties.  The emphasis for the current biennium would be to get the EBT system operational.  If the division had a longer range need for another analyst, staff suggested the agency present the request during the 2003 legislature.  At this time staff thought the existing position plus the three new positions would be sufficient to spearhead implementation efforts.

 

2. The second decision point was the implementation and operational costs.  The state did not have any real choice but move forward with the EBT project.  The decision point included technical adjustments – the additional costs for the transactions as well as the development costs were factored into the budget.  The adjustments that staff made included: 1) aligning EBT transaction costs to current food stamp caseload projections, 2) adding the EBT tail costs (the remaining credit on an EBT card which was still useable after a client was no longer eligible for food stamps) that were not factored into the original budget, 3) adjusting the quality assurance contract to the actual amounts, and 4) adding funding for leasing Point Of Sale (POS) devices for providers who did not have the devices.

 

With all the technical adjustments that were made, there was an increase in the first year of the biennium of $41,720, half being state funded, and a decrease in EBT costs the second year of the biennium of $143,595, half being state funded.  Overall there was a slight reduction.

 

Ms. Tiffany asked what the EBT system included and also wanted to know the total number of staff recommended to be hired to support the system and where the staff would be located.  Mr. Abba stated the division had hired a contractor, Citicorp Services Inc., to implement the system.  The contractor was a forerunner in EBT throughout the nation.  The division would coordinate with the contractor who would do the implementation activities, work with the banks and retailers, and support the division in their training efforts.  Citicorp would receive $1.5 million for development over a seven-year process and would receive a per transaction charge in the amount of $4.03.  The development cost would be factored into the $4.03 per transaction cost.  The division would have responsibility for the daily reconciliation and overall management of the project as well as the contractor.  The subcommittee had already approved six positions in the Welfare Field Services budget and those positions would be located in the largest district offices.  The positions would be EBT coordinators and would train staff, as well as clients, and would be the mainline staff in the districts.  The four new positions recommended in decision unit M-584 could be reduced to three positions if the subcommittee wished to take that action.  Those positions would be located in Carson City and included a manager, an accountant, a clerical position, and a management analyst that could possibly be eliminated.  There was a management analyst position that had been in existence since the 1997 Legislative Session that was involved in the overall planning activities for implementing EBT.  Staff recommended that the existing analyst assume the responsibilities of the analyst position that had been recommended in the Governor’s budget.  In response to a question posed by Ms. Tiffany, Mr. Abba stated the six positions would be located in the Charleston office, Henderson office, Belrose office, 9^th Street office, and Carson City.  The positions located in the Carson City and Reno offices would serve the rural areas.

 

• Decision unit M-586 requested a new management analyst position for the disaggregated data reporting.  The position was needed because of the onerous requirements of the TANF program for reporting information related to the work participation rate issue to the federal government.  The position would allow the division to undertake some proactive activities with the disaggregated data function that primarily involved establishing their own database as well as to be more proactive in knowing up front whether or not the information would meet the mandatory requirements of work participation and work activities that TANF recipients must participate in.  Mr. Abba said a technical adjustment was made that eliminated an existing position for the new position.  The existing position had support costs already factored into the budget.  Technical adjustments were also made to computer hardware costs based upon new pricing information.

 

• Decision unit E-225 recommended augmenting the division’s training budget by $74,001 each year of the biennium.  The division provided information on how the additional funds would be used.  Training dollars in the amount of $125 per worker would touch all workers within the division. 

 

• Decision unit E-250 - no state funds were included in this unit.  The unit provided the division with authority to conduct a feasibility study establishing a common database of application and demographic information that potentially could be accessed by state, local, and nonprofit agencies.  The division would need some match monies in order to undertake the project and anticipated receiving that from local agencies and nonprofit organizations that were willing to participate in the project. 

 

• Decision units E-710 and E-720 were the equipment decision modules.  There was a significant amount of computer hardware and software.  The division had a five-year replacement cycle and this recommendation would keep them within the cycle.  Finally, adjustments were made to allocate the costs for computer hardware and software against the appropriate federal sources, which resulted in a reduction in state funds of $59,709 over the upcoming biennium.

 

Ms. Tiffany referred to decision unit E-225 and said it appeared the division wanted to conduct training in succession planning for managers and supervisors in areas of management improvement techniques, results-based budgeting, managing during organization changes, managing external functions, and technology proficiency.  Ms. Tiffany was concerned because the training appeared to cover such a broad range and asked if a third party would conduct the training.  Mr. Abba said the division planned to send staff to a training academy that would be conducted in phases and indicated some of the training activities that would be undertaken involved the transition the division was still going through from the former days of handling welfare cases and eligibility actions to the current days where the division was focused on work, work participation, getting clients to become self-sufficient and the transition of helping eligibility workers to become focused.

 

Michael Willden, Administrator, Welfare Division, Department of Human Resources, confirmed Mr. Abba’s answer and stated approximately 95 percent of the training would be contracted.  The project management training was a week‑long class that provided staff with a very comprehensive level of skill that would allow them to be a “rookie” project manager, certainly not a seasoned project manager.  Staff assigned to data processing projects and other major projects would be trained to manage projects.  Succession planning addressed staff turnover.  Key staff needed to be prepared to move up the career ladder when there was turnover.  The American Public Human Services organization had a leadership institute that provided classes that were held throughout the nation.  The technology proficiency was the third leg of the training and was started in the current year with the high performance bonus funds.  New personal computers were purchased for most of the frontline staff and training was provided in using the software applications and the Web.  This request would provide funding to continue the training effort needed because of staff turnover.  The department had submitted Requests for Proposals and the community colleges and some private training organizations had provided that support.  Most of the training would be contracted.  Ms. Tiffany asked if contract training meant going outside the state and Mr. Willden said that was correct.

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani asked if the committee wished to:

 

·        Move forward with the OASIS Project and provide funding for the maintenance and operational costs.

 

·        Move forward on the EBT including the funding and administration.

 

·        Accept the additional implementation of the operating of the system.

 

·        Add the new management analyst position for the disaggregated reporting.

 

·        Support the feasibility study recognizing that if the match in funds did not come forward, the study would not be conducted.

 

·        Support the training over the biennium recommended in decision unit E‑255.

 

·        Submit a Letter of Intent asking the department to report back to the legislature on a quarterly basis on the implementation of the OASIS project.

 

·        Eliminate the management analyst position, grade 37, in the EBT.

 

Ms. Tiffany asked Mr. Willden if there was a correlation and a benefit to restarting the OASIS project as well as starting to migrate the NOMADS program.  Mr. Willden said the two programs were linked together and moving NOMADS off the mainframe to a server-based environment was a goal of the department.  The agency did not want OASIS, which was not the employment and training case management system, developed in a mainframe environment.  The agency wanted OASIS in a server-based environment so as the two projects moved forward during the biennium they would eventually merge to a server-based technology and be linked together.  The department would control the project and not contract it out as it was in the last biennium.  Individual Master Service Agreement (MSA) contract programmers would be hired to complete the work.  Ms. Tiffany stated she had just read an overview that was provided to Senator O’Donnell on the Department of Motor Vehicles’ project and throughout the review it was clear that the DoIT did not have the staff to provide oversight of the project, and it appeared the MSA programmers were a little difficult to deal with.  Ms. Tiffany said this was a fairly sizable project and asked Mr. Willden if he was confident that the project could be handled in-house with the DoIT and MSA programmers.  Mr. Willden said he was very comfortable and explained that the department met every Tuesday with Director Savage and had discussed the OASIS restart and where the department needed to go with NOMADS.  County representatives also attended the meetings.  Mr. Willden was confident the department would have the right caliber of MSA programmers.  Ms. Tiffany thought Clark County already had a program that was better than what had been developed at the state and asked Mr. Willden if the agency had looked at the Clark County program.  Mr. Willden said none of the county social service agencies had anything like the OASIS.  The department could find an organization that had developed a similar program elsewhere and import it into Nevada or build the program in-house.  The first start of the OASIS project was a transfer of a system used in San Mateo County, California.  Four months into the project it was obvious the program would not work for Nevada.  Hardware that had been purchased for the initial program would be reused.  The agency would control the MSA programmers and work in tandem with the DoIT.  Mr. Willden was confident the department would be successful in their efforts and would be able to report back to the next legislative session that NOMADS was migrated, OASIS was implemented, and EBT was running. 

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani indicated Mr. Willden had done a good job and understood the department had some good internal MSA programmers that had experience with NOMADS and said perhaps the upcoming projects would provide incentive for the MSA programmers to stay within the department.

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani suggested the following motion:

 

GO AHEAD WITH THE OASIS PROJECT; ELIMINATE THE MANAGEMENT ANALYST, GRADE 37; APPROVE THE POLICY ISSUE FOR THE EBT OPERATING SYSTEM; APPROVE POLICY ISSUE M-586 ADDING THE NEW MANAGEMENT ANALYST POSITION; APPROVE E-225 FOR TRAINING; APPROVE E-250 TO ALLOW FOR A STUDY TO INVESTIGATE, REVIEW, AND RECOMMEND AN ALTERNATIVE TO DUPLICATE APPLICATION PROCESSING IF THE FUNDS ARE RECEIVED, AND INCLUDE TECHNICAL ADJUSTMENTS FROM STAFF.

 

MS. TIFFANY MOVED TO ACCEPT THE RECOMMENDED MOTION. 

 

SENATOR RAWSON SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Goldwater was not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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Mr. Willden thanked the committee and Mr. Abba for all the support provided to the department during the session.

 

HEALTH ADMINISTRATION - BUDGET PAGE HEALTH-1

 

Bob Atkinson, Program Analyst, Fiscal Analysis Division, Legislative Counsel Bureau, said there were a few technical adjustments to Budget Account 3223.  Revenues were adjusted for a reduction in the Preventive Health Services grant and for the elimination of the State Systems Development grant.  Additionally, decision units E‑900 and E-903 were adjusted for position transfers approved in earlier budget closings of the Immunizations Program budget and the Vital Statistics budget.  Mr. Atkinson then referred to the budget closing issues:

 

• E-350 recommended $100,000 in each year of the biennium for a rural mammography program.  Mr. Atkinson referred to a copy of an annual budget for the operation of a rural, mobile, mammography van that had been provided by the department (Exhibit F).  It was staff’s understanding that there were two vans – one was a for-profit van and the other was a nonprofit van.  If approved, the division would make awards based on the request for proposals submitted by the van operators.

 

• E-901 recommended the transfer of two federally funded positions from this budget account to the Maternal and Child Health Services (MCH) budget where services were provided.

 

• E-902 recommended positions be transferred into this account from the Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in lieu of participating in the cost allocation plan.

 

Staff recommended the account be closed as adjusted, with the exception of decision unit E-350.  Staff looked to the subcommittee for a decision.

 

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani said the motion would be staff recommendations with adjustments with some discussion on decision unit E-350 for the mobile mammography vans.  The division had not requested funding for the mobile vans.  Yvonne Sylva, M.P.A., Administrator, Health Division, said the Health Division received no funding for the mammogram vans last session.  The money that was secured for support of the vans was from the private sector, not from state government.  In response to a question posed by Chairwoman Giunchigliani, Mr. Atkinson stated the funding recommended in the budget for the vans was a General Fund appropriation.  Mrs. Cegavske asked how many women were served and diagnosed and thought the program should be supported.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani pointed out the services were not state funded and to take $100,000 that could be used for public service interns or the suicide hotline that had been cut was discomforting.  Perhaps one-shot funding should be used rather than straight General Fund dollars.  Mr. Dini asked how the request was included in the budget if the division had not included it in their agency request.  Ms. Sylva said the Governor had included the request.  Ms. Leslie asked who funded the vans in the past and Ms. Sylva understood the appropriation had come from the federal government.  Senator Ensign’s office was intimately involved in getting the appropriation.  Ms. Sylva did not know if the federal funding was ongoing. 

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani said the motion would be to:

 

CLOSE WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS WITHOUT THE $100,000.

 

Senator Raggio opposed the motion.  If the Governor felt the program was that important, and from what Senator Raggio had heard it should be that important, the $100,000 should be included in the budget.

 

Senator Mathews also opposed the motion and stated she was a breast cancer survivor for more than 15 years and attributed her survival directly to early detection and early treatment.  She stated it was crucial for women and men in the rural areas to receive the services.

 

Ms. Sylva said because the project was a federally funded project the Health Division did not have direct data in terms of who was served.  However, through the Women’s Health Connection, located in the Health Division, the Health in Motion, one of the mobile vans, was reimbursed for approximately 200 mammograms that were provided in the rural areas last year.

 

Senator Rawson said it appeared the motion would fail on the Senate side and wondered if Chairwoman Giunchigliani would entertain a modification of the motion to add decision unit E-350 and Chairwoman Giunchigliani agreed.

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE BUDGET WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS INCLUDING THE $100,000 RECOMMENDED IN DECISION UNIT E‑350.

 

MR. DINI SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Goldwater was not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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HEALTH FACILITIES HOSPITAL LICENSING - BUDGET PAGE HEALTH-26

 

Mr. Atkinson said there were no technical adjustments recommended in Budget Account 3216, however, there needed to be discussion related to the funding issues.  To date, there were no specific details on what the fee increases would be to make the Health Facilities budget viable.  The division indicated fees would be raised but had not provided specific detail.  Mr. Atkinson stated if the division indicated that fees of one kind or another would be adjusted to resolve the funding deficit and if the Budget Division concurred then staff would recommend the account be closed as recommended by the Governor.  Staff also recommended the inclusion of a Letter of Intent requiring the division to report quarterly to the Interim Finance Committee (IFC) on the status of revenues, expenditures, and reserve levels in the account.

 

Senator Rawson thought perhaps the proper motion was to provide the funds but not release the funds until a report was received by the IFC. 

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE BUDGET AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GOVERNOR AND STAFF ADJUSTMENTS INCLUDING A LETTER OF INTENT STATING ONCE FEE INCREASES WERE IN PLACE THE DIVISION WOULD REPORT TO THE INTERIM FINANCE COMMITTEE.

 

Chairman Giunchigliani asked for clarification from the division because there was no money in the budget until the fees were actually collected.  Ms. Sylva said the Health Division projected a revenue shortfall of approximately $1.3 million each year of the biennium and that shortfall in fees that would be generated was based upon the fact that the current fee structure did not cover the actual operating costs.  The only operating costs included in the budget were to perform services mandated in Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS).  The division had met with the Governor and was currently working with Medicaid to build the cost of licensure into the rate that would be reimbursed to the hospitals and the skilled nursing facilities in the state.  Mr. Duarte had met with representatives from the industry and discussed the rate increases.  The division collected revenues from the industry beginning in October of each year because the licensure deadline was December of each year.  The division would realize problems if they were not able to bring in the revenues in a timely fashion.  Ms. Sylva stated the division was more than willing to report to the IFC on the status of the fee increases.

 

MS. TIFFANY SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Goldwater was not present to vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

Chairwoman Giunchigliani asked if the IFC would review the fee increases prior to implementation or would receive a report after the fee increases were implemented.  Senator Rawson said the intent was to have the division report to the IFC once corrective action was taken regarding the revenue shortfall and thereafter on the status of the budget.

 

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COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICES - BUDGET PAGE HEALTH-30

 

Mr. Atkinson said technical adjustments included adjustments to revenues to align them with expenditures and some corrections were made for positions that had been approved by the 1999 legislature that were omitted from The Executive Budget.  Staff recommended closing the budget as adjusted.

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE BUDGET WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS.

 

MR. DINI SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.   (Mr. Goldwater was not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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MATERNAL CHILD HEALTH SERVICES - BUDGET PAGE HEALTH-51

 

Mr. Atkinson said technical adjustments aligned the revenues with expenditures supported by each revenue source.  The budget was also adjusted to include a position that was approved at the IFC meeting held June 14, 2000.  A position was also eliminated from decision unit E-303 that was inadvertently included.  Based on the approval of the position transfers in the Health Administration account, the position transfers included in E-901 would be recommended and approved.  Staff recommended closing the account as adjusted.

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE BUDGET WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS.

 

SENATOR MATHEWS SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Goldwater was not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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SPECIAL CHILDREN’S CLINIC - BUDGET PAGE HEALTH-57

 

Mr. Atkinson stated revenue adjustments were made to align the revenues with expenditures.  Positions were adjusted as approved by the 1999 legislature.  One-time equipment expenditures that were inadvertently included in the base budget were eliminated.  Based on the closing of the Vital Statistics budget and the movement of the biostatistician position to Health Administration, the subcommittee had redirected the funding saved in order to try to reinstate the public service interns that were recommended for elimination in decision unit E‑125.  Mr. Atkinson said the amount to restore all the positions would be $397,427 for FY2002 and $386,177 for FY2003.  The funding that was saved in the Vital Statistics budget was $71,487 for FY2002 and $77,269 in FY2003.  In order for full restoration of the public service interns that were being eliminated in E-125 an additional $325,940 in FY2002 and $308,908 in FY2003 was needed.  Staff recommended closing the budget as adjusted subject to a recommendation on E-125.

 

Senator Raggio asked for an explanation on the rationale for the proposed removal of the public service intern positions.  Ms. Sylva stated the division had to make some tough decisions when it was preparing the budget and was required to come in within the FY2001 cap.  The agency had deliberated and weighed the four core functions of public health and then looked at where reductions could be made to balance the budget that would have the least fiscal impact on the health of the general population.  The role of public service interns was changing due to federal law requiring more and more services to be provided in natural environments and fewer services in a clinic-based environment.  Because the division’s professional staff was out in the community, the agency made a decision that there was no longer a great need to continue with public service interns.  In response to a question posed by Senator Raggio, Ms. Sylva said the public service interns were full‑time student positions and performed support services to the professional staff.  Often the agency hired the interns to fill professional positions within the clinic once they had completed training.  Senator Raggio wanted to know what the impact would be if the positions were not funded and Ms. Sylva said the division thought there would be little, if any, impact on treatment services provided at the clinic.  The positions did not generate any fee revenue.  Senator Raggio asked if the positions were without value, if so, the positions should not have been funded in the first place.  Ms. Sylva explained when the positions were funded originally, federal law was different.  Senator Raggio again asked if the positions were of value and Ms. Sylva stated their value had diminished greatly over the years and on a scale of one to ten the value would be zero.  Ms. Leslie asked why the parents were so committed to the interns and stated the difference between the division’s perception and the parent’s perception was significant.  Ms. Sylva thought the parents probably had close interaction with those persons who served in any kind of a setting and when a child had disabilities, families connected very easily with anyone who provided assistance.  Ms. Leslie said the letters the committee members had received were very heart rendering.  Ms. Sylva concluded it was about a connection between human beings rather than actual services.  Senator Mathews stated interns normally did not get paid in a health setting.  Nurses and physical therapists provided interning services free of charge.  Senator Coffin understood that Ms. Sylva did not mean to imply the interns had zero value and knew she did not mean that and was sure the record would not reflect that.

 

Senator Coffin said the elimination of the interns would save $800,000 in the General Fund and thought much of the agency’s decision to eliminate the positions was driven by the savings and asked where else the agency would have found savings.  Ms. Sylva said there was no other money because the Health Division’s budget was bare bones and the agency had looked everywhere for funds.  The elimination of the intern positions was the result.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani said she had worked with Ms. Sylva for many years and did not think the intent was that the individuals who had been interning were not of value but instead the role had changed.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani hoped during the interim ideas could be developed on how to better serve the Special Children’s Clinic.  Senator Raggio asked the cost of a full-time intern position and Ms. Sylva said the amount was $44,000 per year, which included salary and fringe benefits.  Senator Raggio said $71,000 and $77,000 had been restored from the Vital Statistics budget and asked if Ms. Sylva meant those amounts would fund less than two intern positions, and Ms. Sylva said that was correct.  Chairwoman Giunchigliani said the budget had been cut significantly and stated she would be willing to put forth some type of tax increase to restore some of the programs.

 

Senator Rawson asked if the $77,000 was put back into the budget to fund two intern positions would it be well used.  Ms. Sylva said because the funds were Maternal and Child Health block grant funds, it would be the agency’s intention to utilize the funds to bring public service interns into Las Vegas, which was not currently as far ahead in terms of decentralizing the services that were clinic-based. 

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE BUDGET WITH STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS AS ADJUSTED AND THE ADDITION OF THE MONEY SAVED FROM BUDGET ACCOUNT 3190, VITAL STATISTICS, TO FUND INTERN SERVICES TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE.

 

MS. LESLIE SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

Ms. Leslie asked if the positions were housed in Las Vegas was there a chance the interns could be used to help the newborn hearing screening, and Ms. Sylva said probably not because the interns would not have the required experience.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Goldwater was not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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HEALTH ALCOHOL & REHABILITATION - BUDGET PAGE HEALTH-70

 

Mr. Atkinson said a few technical adjustments were made:

 

• A small reserve and balance forward that had been budgeted into the upcoming biennium were removed.

 

• MAXIMUS funding in the amount of $500,000 was allocated to the account in each year of the biennium for support of the adolescent treatment programs.

 

• An adjustment was made in drug-free schools to align the revenues with expenditures.

 

Mr. Atkinson suggested that a Letter of Intent be issued, as was issued for the current biennium, indicating no MAXIMUS funding be obligated until receipt of the funding.  Staff recommended the account be closed as adjusted.

 

SENATOR RAWSON MOVED TO CLOSE THE ACCOUNT AS RECOMMENDED BY STAFF INCLUDING THE LETTER OF INTENT.

 

MS. LESLIE SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.  (Mr. Goldwater and Senator Mathews were not present for the vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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Chairwoman Giunchigliani relinquished the Chairmanship to Senator Rawson to address the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) budgets.

 

EDUCATION STATE PROGRAMS - BUDGET PAGE K12ED-1

 

Georgia Rohrs, Program Analyst, Fiscal Analysis Division, Legislative Counsel Bureau, said there were a number of issues for the subcommittee to consider in Budget Account 2673.

 

• Decision unit 201 – The issue was whether the subcommittee wished to approve increasing the half-time charter school consultant position to a full-time position.  The cost to the General Fund would be $39,998 in FY2002 and $40,044 in FY2003.  The full-time position was needed to respond to the increased number of charter schools and the level of assistance required both in the initial application process and for ongoing support of the charter schools.  At the February 20^th budget hearing the department had said if a charter school grant was awarded to the department by the U. S. Department of Education (USDE) the General Fund dollars dedicated to the department’s charter schools, including the funding of positions, would be reverted.  Mrs. Rohrs indicated increasing the position to full time appeared reasonable and stated the number of charter schools could double next year. 

 

• Decision units E-902 and M-205 – The issue was whether the subcommittee wished to approve the transfer of the administrative portion of the Student Management Automated Record Transfer (SMART) program costs from the Other State Education Programs budget to this budget.  The Other State Education Program account was primarily a pass-through budget with no personnel and General Fund monies for various programs were passed directly to the school districts.  Therefore the transfer of the SMART administrative function to this budget account appeared reasonable and maintained the Other State Education Programs budget as a pass-through budget with no staff.  Another issue was whether the subcommittee wished to approve two new positions – a Management Analyst III position for FY2002 and a Computer Systems Programmer II position in FY2003 for the SMART program.

 

Mrs. Cegavske asked about the half-time charter school consultant position and said Clark County School District had a bill that would allow the district to charge a percentage to the charter schools to pay for district administrative fees and wondered if increasing the position to full time conflicted with the bill.  Mrs. Cegavske stated she was not supportive of the bill as written.  Mrs. Rohrs said the bill related to funds going directly to the local school district for administrative support and did not involve the department.  The position requested by the department would provide department oversight of the program including processing applications and ensuring compliance with statutes.  Senator Rawson thought the bill would allow the districts to withhold 2 or 3 percent in case a charter school failed.

 

• Mrs. Rohrs continued discussing decision units E-902 and M-205 and said the computer systems programmer position appeared reasonable.  The department was phasing out the SMART contractor process and the information systems functions would be performed in-house.  The new position would be provided training through the existing contractor and then assume those duties and responsibilities.  The Fiscal Division did not believe the information provided by the department justified a Management Analyst III position at this time.  That did not mean the position would not be necessary in the future, however, currently Clark County and Lyon County had not implemented SMART and it was unlikely that Clark County would be fully implemented prior to March 2003, which was the current target date.  It also appeared unlikely there would be a statewide report generated by SMART during the upcoming biennium.  A large share of the workload of the existing SMART evaluation consultant was related to implementation and development of regulations and procedures, which should be completed at the time Clark County was fully on-board.  The department was asked to prioritize its positions and, while they were fully supportive of receiving both the positions, neither of the positions requested in this decision unit was prioritized.

 

• Decision unit E-275 – Mrs. Rohrs said the next issue the subcommittee needed to consider for approval was a new Administrative Services Officer II position to be funded by the General Fund in the amount of $71,230 in FY2002 and $89,291 in FY2003.  Mrs. Rohrs reiterated that the department had been asked to prioritize its request for positions and the Administrative Services Officer II position was ranked as the number one priority.  The position would have primary responsibility for oversight of the Distributive School Account (DSA), which was the state’s largest, single budget totaling $1.5 billion in The Executive Budget for the upcoming biennium.  The position was specifically identified as the person who would implement several of the recommendations resulting from the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s textbook audit and was recommended by the Fiscal Division to be funded.

 

• Decision unit E-900 and E-277  - The decision units transferred a .5 FTE deputy superintendent position and a 1.0 FTE consultant position from the Support Services budget, which was supported by indirect costs, to this account.  Federal restrictions applied regarding which position costs could and could not be recovered from an indirect cost allocation process.  Federal regulations specifically excluded the positions and since neither position was eligible for federal indirect cost recovery, they should not be paid from a pool where all the receipts, state and federal, were derived from the indirect cost recovery process and then pooled to pay the administrative costs of the positions in that budget.  The transferred deputy and consultant positions would be paid 100 percent from the General Fund in this budget.  The alternative would be to continue to fund the positions from an indirect cost pool, which included federal funds for which the positions were not eligible, and that was viewed as inappropriate.  Mrs. Rohrs said keeping the positions in the Support Services account and funding them by cutting costs and restructuring the cost pool, or funding the positions by a direct appropriation of the General Fund into that budget, would further complicate the Support Services budget and was not recommended.

 

• Decision unit E-278 – The issue was whether the subcommittee wished to approve the transfer of funding from traditional out-of-state travel, in‑state travel, and operating expense categories to program categories.  This budget was more than 90 percent funded from the General Fund and elimination of the three traditional categories would result in a majority of all non-personnel costs being consolidated and accounted for within the individual program expenditures category.  This would conceivably allow the department to spend the General Fund monies transferred to program categories without regard to whether the expenses were for out-of-state travel, payment on a contract, etc., as long as money was available within the overall program category.  The result would be a loss of budgetary control without consideration of legislative intent in a budget that was 90 percent General Fund dollars.  The department would have maximized flexibility, but there would be a loss of categorical control over the General Fund monies, and it would be more difficult to track General Fund expenditures.

 

• Decision unit E-902 – Recommended transferring the membership dues for the Education Commission of the States (ECS) to the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s budget, which would reduce the General Fund requirement in this budget and increase the General Fund requirement in the LCB budget by the same amount.  The ECS provided research and consultation to state legislators and governors and, according to the department, had primarily been a state legislature activity with the department not being directly involved. 

 

Mrs. Rohrs referred to a few minor decision units that did not require the scrutiny of the subcommittee at this time, but the members needed to be aware of them.

 

• Decision unit E-251 – Recommended the direct allocation of the General Fund portion of indirect costs to the Support Services budget account.  The allocation occurred in all of the department’s budgets that had a General Fund indirect cost component.  This issue would be reviewed during the budget hearing for Budget Account 2720, Support Services.  Budget Account 2673 could be closed contingent upon any modifications that might be made by the subcommittee to the Support Services budget account.

 

• Decision unit E-252 – This decision unit recommended the transfer of less than full-time equivalent positions to Budget Account 2719, a new budget account, to consolidate and facilitate easier tracking and eliminate the need for part-time positions to have to fill out numerous time sheets each week.  The decision unit also recommended consolidating full-time positions funded by more than one budget account into one budget account.

 

• Decision unit E-276 – Funding would be provided for training for the 25.25 FTE positions to ensure department employees were able to utilize office technology effectively.  The average cost of the training was $250 each, per year.

 

• E-710 – Included technical adjustments to computer and printer prices to reflect current contract prices provided by the Purchasing Division.

 

Senator Rawson asked Mrs. Rohrs to continue with the next budget and stated as soon as there was a quorum he would accept a motion on Budget Account 2673.

 

Ms. Tiffany felt it was not correct to say that the Lyon County School District had not implemented the SMART program.  It was her understanding that the district had implemented the SMART program on a Macintosh system, but because SMART no longer supported that system, the district had to change to a PC‑based system.  Clark County School District was the only district that was not complete as far as the data.

 

Senator Rawson thought it might set a bad precedent for the state to purchase equipment and fund positions for the SMART program.  However, if there was ever going to be a statewide report with reliable data the state would have to take some responsibility.  Senator Rawson indicated the state was partly at fault for not initially prescribing a standardized system.  Ms. Tiffany thought the state had some responsibility but not 100 percent.

 

Douglas C. Thunder, Deputy Superintendent for Administrative and Fiscal Services, Department of Education, said Lyon County’s new submission removed most of the hardware needs because of the different software system they were using.  Ms. Tiffany said the district wanted to move to Web‑based technology, which would allow them to keep the hardware that they currently had, and stated she liked the direction the district was taking and thought they had submitted a very reasonable compromise.

 

Senator Rawson stated there was a quorum and asked for a motion on Budget Account 2673.

 

Mrs. Cegavske stated, with some regret, she wanted to make a motion to delete decision unit E-275.  She thought the department had done some “masterful manipulation” of the budget and had some concerns.  Mrs. Cegavske also was concerned with decision unit M-201 and did not feel increasing the charter school consultant position to full time had been justified by the department.  Senator Rawson said it appeared there was an increasing burden caused by the charter school movement that would not peak until FY2003 and thought help was needed this biennium.

 

 

Mr. Thunder said the half-time charter school position was needed as just dealing with the five charter schools currently operating took all of his time, plus donating additional time, just to deal with the application process.  The tremendous amount of technical assistance needed by the charter schools, not only from the consultant, but also from the department’s audit staff and others had created a huge burden.  In many respects each charter school was like working with another district because the schools did not have the expertise of the reports that had to be filed.  In many ways you had to go through the process individually and provide advice each step along the way.

 

Mrs. Cegavske asked what was the difference between what the department provided for new schools versus what was provided for new charter schools.  Mr. Thunder said the difference was the new schools that were set up were a district-level matter and the department did not become directly involved in that.  There was a very significant role played at the state level, as well as the district level, for new charter schools.  Mrs. Cegavske asked if Mr. Thunder was saying that the department and each school district were doing the same job. 

 

Senator Rawson said he thought the legislature had mandated a heavy responsibility on the state with the charter schools and the school districts did not want to give up control so they were monitoring and watching, however, the main responsibility had gone to the state.  Senator Rawson felt the position was justified.  Mr. Arberry indicated his support for the position and referred to an incident last year when a charter school had tried to locate in Las Vegas from the Washington, D.C. area and, due to the time frame and approval requirements, was unable to open.  Mr. Arberry thought oversight of the charter schools and the application process was very important and thought a full-time charter school consultant was needed. 

 

Senator Rawson said the motion would be to close the budget according to staff recommendations including the approval of the Administrative Services Officer II position, contingent upon elimination of the budget analyst position in the Support Services Budget Account 2720; approval of the transfer of the 1.5 FTE position from the Support Services budget; no approval of the transfer of funding from out-of-state, in-state travel, and operating into one program category; approval of the transfer of the membership dues for the Education Commission of the States; and the other technical decisions.  For the SMART program, the Computer Systems Programmer position would be approved and the Management Analyst II position would not be approved.

 

MRS. CEGAVSKE MOVED TO CLOSE THE BUDGET AS STATED BY SENATOR RAWSON.

 

MR. DINI SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. (Mr. Goldwater was not present to vote.)

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

 

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OTHER STATE EDUCATION PROGRAMS – BUDGET PAGE K12ED-18

 

Mrs. Rohrs said there were a number of issues for the subcommittee’s consideration:

 

• Decision unit M-200 – Does the subcommittee wish to fund ongoing school district SMART replacement equipment, one-time equipment purchases for the Lyon County system implementation, and funding for SMART staff in the school districts?  The Governor’s budget recommended approximately $3 million next biennium for Phase 4 of the SMART program.  The costs included:

 

1.     Ongoing replacement equipment in all school districts for repair, maintenance, and upgrades on a five-year schedule, based on enrollment numbers to determine the number of computer workstations.  The dollars attached were based on a formula that took into account 40 percent of the usage being for SMART issues and 25 percent of the network traffic being attributable to SMART.

 

2.     Statewide vendor costs to modify modules and travel for consultants, $469,900 for the biennium.

 

3.     One-time purchases for the Lyon County School District’s system implementation.  The budget reflected $349,990 but the amount was reduced by the district to $165,023, a reduction of $184,967 in FY2002.  The district had originally wanted to switch from a Mac system to WinSchool, but now decided it would prefer switching to PowerSchool, which accounted for the cost reduction.

 

4.     Funding for school district SMART staff.  Approximately $1.4 million was recommended for the biennium to provide funding for a school district administrator in each school district except Esmeralda County School District.  The positions would have responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the data submitted.  There would also be two consultants – one in Washoe County and a half-time position in Lander County to provide technical assistance and training to the schools districts.  A consultant for PowerSchool was not being requested.  The recommended positions would not be state employees, but would be hired by the local school districts.

 

The funding process would be the same process utilized for state and federal aid-to-schools administered by the department.  School districts would submit budgets to the department, the department would review the budgets and allot funds to the districts, and the districts would provide the department with a report of expenditures on an annual basis.  Mrs. Rohrs said the subcommittee might want to consider that funding of ongoing SMART replacement equipment could establish a precedent whereby the state would be expected to be responsible for all repair, maintenance, replacement and upgrades of hardware and software related to SMART for all school districts in future biennia.  Funding ongoing staff positions related to SMART also could establish a precedent that the state would be expected to be responsible for all personnel costs related to SMART in all school districts in future biennia.  If the subcommittee approved this proposal, the decision unit could be reduced by $184,967 in FY2002 for the revision to the Lyon County conversion costs.

 

Ms. Tiffany thought data integrity was very important and asked if anyone had ever set up an audit-type individual at the state level who would have responsibility to spot check in each school district as opposed to staffing a full‑time person in each school district for the integrity checks.  Mr. Thunder said the department’s evaluation consultant currently had responsibility for integrity checks of the data submitted.  The activity was to have been assigned to the Management Analyst II position that had been requested by the department.  Mr. Thunder affirmed that the integrity of the data was indeed an important element and was part of the program.  Senator Rawson thought the issue was important and thought the Management Analyst II position might be approved during the next legislative session.  Ms. Tiffany said she had a problem with placing one SMART position in each district to do the quality assurance checking of the data.  Senator Rawson thought perhaps that by funding the request the legislature would establish a precedent that the state would take eternal responsibility.  The SMART system was important and the data had to be reliable and Senator Rawson said the state had a responsibility to set up the program and future legislatures would deal with how much responsibility the state would assume in the future.

 

In response to a question posed by Ms. Tiffany, Mrs. Rohrs said the funding that was provided for the positions was to pay a portion of the costs, approximately $40,000 each year, toward the cost of a SMART school district administrator in each school district except Esmeralda.  Also, there would be two consultants – a half-time position in Lander County and one full-time position in Washoe County to respond to the more technical matters.  Mrs. Rohrs noted she had provided the subcommittee with an attachment (Exhibit G) that detailed costs by district.  Because the document was an earlier submission, Lyon County’s amount still reflected $349,990, which had been reduced to $165,023. 

 

• Decision unit E-300 – The issue was whether a charter school and class‑size reduction evaluation should be conducted at a cost of $340,000 in FY2002 from the General Fund.  The department was requested to provide details on how the $340,000 was to be spent.  A proposal was provided and disseminated to the subcommittee last week.  The evaluation would consist of sampling and collecting data for every year for at least three years and a longitudinal study of a sample of students followed for ten years.  The response did not mention a charter school component and the department was unable to provide a breakdown of costs and no explanation was provided for the proposal being $10,000 less than the amount recommended in the Governor’s budget. 

 

Senator Raggio said the evaluation issue could be deferred and thought, considering the fiscal constraints, the issue was not essential.  It was important information, but it should be deferred to the next biennium and Senator Rawson concurred. 

 

• Decision unit M-325 – Recommended funding of $150,000 in General Fund monies each year for up to 75 teachers each year to receive reimbursement of up to $2,000 each for successful completion of the National Teacher Certification Program.

 

Senator Rawson asked if the funding was to continue an existing program and Mrs. Rohrs said that was correct and it was funded at $20,000 for the current biennium.  Assuming the department’s projection that approximately 70 percent of the number of teachers who had expressed an interest in applying for the certification would go on to successfully complete the program, the funding appeared reasonable.

 

Senator Raggio thought the certification was important.  It was part of the Education Reform Act and teachers should be encouraged to participate.  The proposal and the number of teachers seemed reasonable and Senator Raggio endorsed the continuation of the program.

 

Senator Rawson asked if any unused funds would revert to the General Fund and Mrs. Rohrs said at the end of the biennium any unused funds would revert.

 

Senator Coffin wondered why no one had received any reimbursement and asked if no one had applied or did the program start too late.  Senator Rawson thought the program had just started because it took some time to achieve the certification.

 

• Decision unit E-902 was covered in the previous budget and approved the transfer of the administrative function of SMART to the Education State Programs budget.

 

• Did the subcommittee wish to approve the funding of Public Broadcasting, Local Education Agency (LEA) library books, vocational organizations, and the Apprenticeship program as part of the base?  In the past, these were presented in bills requesting appropriations.  The programs were included in The Executive Budget in the base and, if approved, would be considered ongoing costs and considered part of the base budget in the future.

 

In response to a question posed by Mr. Arberry, Senator Rawson said the funding was not included in a bill currently in the Senate and asked Mrs. Rohrs to provide the dollar amounts.  Mrs. Rohrs said the apprenticeship program was funded at $576,676 each year; the vocational student organizations were funded at $91,138 and she indicated there was a bill that would increase that amount to $100,000.

 

Mr. Goldwater asked about the Holocaust Education funding, and Mrs. Rohrs said the funding for that program was moved to the Department of Administration’s budget because indirect costs would not have to be paid.  Don Hataway, Deputy Director, Budget Division, Department of Administration, said the Holocaust funding was a one-shot appropriation that the Governor supported and, if passed, it would be included in Administration’s budget.  Mr. Goldwater asked if the Holocaust Education could be included with the other programs requested in Budget Account 2699.  Mr. Hataway said it was the Governor’s Committee on Holocaust Education and the Department of Administration was the administrative arm of the Governor’s Office so the Budget Division felt it was appropriate to include the funding in the Administrative Services budget for administration.  Mr. Hataway went on to say there was a misconception that even if funding was included in the base budget, it was protected.  Every biennium the Budget Office had to look at the availability of funding sources and made decisions at that point.  The Governor had made a commitment two years ago for ongoing funding and there was surplus money to fund Holocaust Education the next biennium.  Mr. Goldwater said he could not remember when a base budget had been cut because resources were tight, but did know year‑to-year one-shots had been cut.

 

Mrs. Rohrs continued with her budget presentation.

 

• The subcommittee needed to determine whether to double the funding for the Classroom on Wheels (COW) program in the upcoming biennium.  The COW program funding was included in the base budget.  Last session the legislature appropriated $177,250 for the purchase and refurbishing of school buses and an additional appropriation of $123,750 had been included in S.B. 560 for operating and other expenses.  The Nevada Institute for Children reported there were three refurbished buses ready to go as mobile classrooms, but there was not sufficient funding to provide staff and general operating supplies.  The Executive Budget included $301,000 for each year of the biennium for the COW program.

 

Ms. Leslie thought the increase was very large and asked the subcommittee members to think about the Peer Mediation program.  She had reviewed the department’s evaluation report of the Peer Mediation programs that were funded in both urban and rural schools and student discipline problems had been greatly reduced due to the program.  Ms. Leslie indicated her willingness to move some of the recommended COW funding into the Peer Mediation program.  Senator Coffin said the Governor realized the value of the COW program, particularly since a component had been added for northern Nevada and thought the Governor’s recommendation was an appropriate amount.

 

• Decision Unit E-251 -- A direct allocation of the General Fund for indirect costs to the Support Services budget. 

 

Mrs. Rohrs stated the 1999 legislature funded the State Planning Commission for New Construction Design, Maintenance and Repair of School Facilities in the amount of $75,000.  Funding for Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution programming was $50,000 for the first year of the current biennium.  Funding for the pilot project for Alternative Programs for Disruptive Students was $500,000 for each year of the current biennium.  The Executive Budget did not recommend continued funding for these programs.

 

Senator Rawson asked if any money had been saved in Education State Programs budget.  Mr. Dini said $184,000 had been cut from the Lyon County School District’s appropriation. 

 

Senator Raggio proposed that the funding included in decision unit E-300 be deferred and said he was concerned the funding for Lyon County School District for the SMART program would set a precedent.  Perhaps it would be better to provide a direct appropriation at this time rather than putting the amount into the budget.  Senator Raggio said if the funding was included in the budget some clear intent should be expressed so there would not be an ongoing expectation and said it was never intended that the state pick up all the costs for the SMART program.  He also supported the Governor’s recommendation to fund Holocaust Education in the Department of Administration’s budget.  Senator Raggio asked how many COW units there would be in northern Nevada and Mr. Thunder said he would provide the information to the subcommittee.

 

Senator Rawson asked Mr. Hataway to recommend that the Governor consider placing the funding for Holocaust Education in the base budget during the next budget cycle.

 

Mr. Dini referred to the funding included for Lyon County for the SMART program and said Lyon County had been ahead of the curve and had purchased the Mac equipment before SMART was established.  The district had worked with the NDE and received permission to use the Mac equipment and now there was no support for the Mac system.  Mr. Dini did not think a precedent was being set because funding was saved initially when the SMART program was established, but said the subcommittee could include a statement to make certain it did not set a precedent.  Mr. Dini also supported the COW program and said the program covered many outlying areas and did not think the recommended funding was too much.  The program was doing a tremendous job in the rural areas of Washoe, Lyon, Churchill and Storey Counties.  The increased COW funding would allow the program to expand into more rural areas and Mr. Dini thought it was money well spent.  Mr. Goldwater concurred with Mr. Dini on the COW funding and declared his support for some of the one‑shot appropriations such as the construction and maintenance of schools that had not been included in The Executive Budget.  Mr. Goldwater also supported the Chair’s suggestion that the Holocaust Education funding be included in the base in future budgets. 

 

Senator Rawson said there were still two or three issues to be resolved before closing the budget.  Funding programs that were not included in the recommended budget would require General Fund money and there was no additional funding available in the General Fund.

 

MR. GOLDWATER MOVED TO KEEP THE FUNDING FOR THE COW PROGRAM AT THE AMOUNTS RECOMMENDED BY THE GOVERNOR AND CONSIDER THE SAVINGS FROM THE LYON COUNTY SMART PROGRAM FOR PEER MEDIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION. 

 

MR. DINI SECONDED THE MOTION.

 

Senator Raggio requested clarification of the motion and asked about the precedent of the SMART funding and the recommended deletion of the charter school and class-size reduction evaluation and said there should at least be a Letter of Intent.  Mr. Goldwater said the issues had not been included in his motion and he wanted to address the issues separately.  Senator Raggio said the issues needed to be part of the motion.

 

MR. GOLDWATER MOVED TO INCLUDE IN HIS ORIGINAL MOTION THE DEFERRAL OF THE CHARTER SCHOOL AND CLASS SIZE EVALUATION; FUNDING IN THE AMOUNT OF $50,000 FOR THE BIENNIUM FOR PEER MEDIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION; AND A LETTER OF INTENT INDICATING THE SMART FUNDING PROVIDED TO LYON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WOULD NOT BE CONTINUING FUNDING.

 

THE MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. 

 

BUDGET CLOSED.

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The meeting was adjourned at 10:33 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

 

Linda J. Smith

Committee Secretary

 

 

APPROVED BY:

 

 

 

                       

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, Chairwoman

 

 

DATE:           

 

 

 

APPROVED BY:

 

 

 

                       

Senator Raymond D. Rawson, Chairman

 

 

DATE: