A special session of the Nevada state legislature is essentially a session of the legislature that is not part of the regular cycle, which today is meeting for 120 days every two years.

Last month when the legislature convened it was only the 24th special session in the state’s 144-year history. That statistic is a little misleading as Nevada has had seven special sessions in the past eight years. In 1999, the voters passed a state constitutional amendment limiting the legislature regular session to 120 days every two years. Any time needed beyond the 120 days needs to be addressed by a special session. Historically the budget has been the primary reason for calling a special session. This session is such a case as was the first session, which was called in 1867.

Many sessions had been called on account of budget issues prior to the 1970s, but the legislature created the interim finance committee, and most off-year budget issues were dealt with through the committee and did not require a special session.

Most other special sessions historically have addressed issues ranging from labor union violence, adopting U.S. Constitutional amendments, reapportionment of state senate seats and impeachment of state officers to dealing with a healthcare crisis.

But in recent years the issue has been the lack of time, growth of the state and the mandated 120-day requirement. The year 1999 was the only time since the amendment passed that the state legislature didn’t have to call a special session to finish business.

Since 1999, special sessions have been called to address budget issues in 2001 after 9/11 and 2003. A failure to finish the budget in 2005 and 2007 also led to special sessions.

What makes this session so unusual is that the state has been facing tremendous financial issues since late last year. There is confusion about how much money the state will need to cut or make up in the coming year, and the short timeframe puts pressure on legislators and state staff alike.

There may be a solution provided prior to the printing of this column. I will be especially interested, not only on behalf of the resort industry but for myself, to see what happens.

By Bill Bible

Casino Connection Nevada contributing editor Bill Bible is the president of the Nevada Resort Association. Bible has a long history with the state of Nevada and the gaming industry. He has served as a controller for Nevada, the chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, and a member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission.

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