Committee hears bill to move economic forum to April and let LCB contract for forecasting services

The Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections opened a hearing on Senate Bill 419, which would change the statutory date for the economic forum during regular legislative sessions from on or before May 1 to on or before April 1 and authorize the director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau to enter contracts to support the economic forum and the technical advisory committee.

Senator Marilyn Dondero Lupin, sponsor and chair of the Senate Finance Committee, told the committee the bill is “pretty simple” and explained the change is intended to give the money committees more time to act on the economic forum’s updated general fund revenue forecast. She said the current May 1 date was set before the constitutional 120‑day session limit and, with sine die generally in early June, leaves only about a month to make budget adjustments based on the forum’s forecast.

Wayne Thorley, senior fiscal analyst with the Legislative Counsel Bureau, told the committee the April 1 date would “give the money committees more time to make adjustments to the budget” and that earlier timing than April would not allow enough months of data after the December forecast. Michael Nakamoto, chief principal deputy fiscal analyst, said in his 20 years of staff work with the economic forum “this last economic forum meeting last week was only the second time where there was a downward revision between December and May,” and that most years the session forecast does not change dramatically.

The second main change in the bill would shift administration of contracts that support forecasting and data processing to the Legislative Counsel Bureau. Dondero Lupin said the executive branch now enters such contracts, and SB 419 would “simply change the administration of those contracts to the legislative council bureau.”

Testimony at the hearing was limited. Kent Ervin of the Nevada Faculty Alliance said he supported the change, saying he has observed how “stressed” budget work becomes at the end of session and that moving the date forward is “a good idea.” Caller Oscar Williams opposed the bill on separation‑of‑authority grounds, arguing the change “takes authority away from the governor and concentrates it into the hands of the director of the Legislative Commission.”

No committee vote was recorded at the hearing. The sponsor waived closing remarks and the committee closed the SB 419 hearing before moving on to other bills.