Several months ago I stood before television cameras on the eve of a special legislative session called by the governor to slash Nevada’s budgets. 

I said I would not do this again. 

Nevada has experienced boom and bust revenue cycles for the past 20 years, with lots of revenue to spend in good times and severe budget shortfalls in when the economy sours.

This just isn’t working. 

I’ve devoted my life to standing up and speaking out on behalf of those who often don’t have a voice in government---the young families with inadequate or no health coverage, the elderly who choose between food or prescription medication, consumers who find they have no rights when fleeced by fast talking sales people, and children who attend school with no breakfast in their bellies and no books in their classrooms.

We now find ourselves in a place where these problems are multiplying, where highways and streets are jammed, where funds for public safety are tightening, and little relief is in sight. 

Our present governor’s only solution is to appoint yet another committee.  In the light of worsening economic figures—unemployment is now over 7 percent—the Governor offers no solutions, no program, no direction.

I will not do this again.

Let’s make something clear. I stand for fiscal responsibility and cost savings—that is the first position of any responsible leader. But we won’t fight our way out of this problem by cutting spending for textbooks in the classroom, closing mental health clinics, and halting road construction. We will find a better way.

This budget crisis is having a devastating impact on our entire state. If textbooks are not supplied to children in Henderson, Sparks or Ely, there will be Nevada children without the necessary tools to learn. If highway funds are cut in Reno, Las Vegas or Elko, Nevada drivers are delayed and their gas costs rise.

This pressing need is a call to action. 

That’s why I am convening a number of meetings across Nevada to meet with everyday Nevadans and start a discussion of where we are and where Nevadans want this state to be. I’ve asked Nevadans of different political parties, different backgrounds, from different parts of the state to help with this effort . . . and the response is heartening.

We are not going to raise taxes on hard-working, middle class Nevadans.  We are going to make real assessments of which level of government should do what, and we are going to re-evaluate current tax breaks that may no longer make sense given our budget shortfalls.  We won’t solve this overnight, but we will never solve the problem by hiding from it.

As we have these conversations, I urge you to add your voice.  Send me your ideas.  You can respond to this website or on a special website we have set up: www.nv2020.com. Tell me what you see—and what you believe we should do.  We are all in this together, and I know we can do better. 

Sincerely,

Barbara Buckley
Speaker of the Nevada State Assembly