Nevada budget closings: committees approve most agency recommendations, trim several governor proposals

The Joint Assembly Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance completed a daylong series of budget closings on April 11, 2025, approving most base budgets and technical adjustments while rejecting several of the governor's enhancement requests and some fund transfers.

Committee members approved routine closings for the Governor's Office of New Americans and several energy accounts while pressing the Governor's Office of Energy to monitor recent federal guidance on clean-energy grants. Lawmakers also approved scaled-back funding for economic-development programs, declined a room-tax transfer to the Nevada Film Office, and declined several governor-recommended salary and program enhancements for other agencies.

Why it matters: The committees' decisions set spending levels and program authorities for the 2025–27 biennium and signal legislative priorities and restraint in a constrained fiscal environment. Several rejected items — including proposed new positions and large one-time appropriations — may reappear during the interim or be sought through the Interim Finance Committee or separate legislation.

The meeting followed the closing-packet schedule and used fiscal staff presentations from the Legislative Counsel Bureau. Damien Meeks and other LCB analysts presented multiple accounts. When agencies were present, their staff answered members' questions about federal grants, program design and contingency plans.

Key decisions and context

- Governor's Office of New Americans: The committees closed the office's account as recommended by fiscal staff. Fiscal analyst Damien Meeks presented the account; the committees moved and carried approval on the staff recommendation.

- Governor's Office of Energy (GOE) and Renewable Energy accounts: Fiscal staff reported no major issues for GOE's general account and the Renewable Energy and Efficiency/Conservation Loan accounts. Senators asked whether recent April 8–9 federal executive guidance (questions about federal climate policy priorities) would affect federal grant draws. Matthew Brown, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Energy, said the office has contacted the U.S. Department of Energy and that “there has not been any change to our current activity of our active grants” and that the office is “actively monitoring” and in regular communication with DOE. The committees closed the accounts as recommended, and Brown said parts of GOE’s programs could proceed using alternative state funding if federal grants were paused.

- Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED): The committee considered multiple GOED accounts and enhancement requests. For the Office of Entrepreneurship, the governor proposed a new outreach and innovation system manager position and about $402,895 in general fund support for outreach expansion. Senator Dondero Loop moved to approve only part of the governor's request (contract and grant expenditures totaling $155,000) but not the new position or associated travel. That motion carried. Assemblymember Bacchus later moved to adopt most other closing items except one travel item; that motion carried.

- Nevada Film Office: The governor recommended transferring $250,498 in room-tax revenue from the Commission on Tourism to increase film-office travel and advertising. A motion to not approve that room-tax transfer carried.

- Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada (WIN): The governor recommended $5 million per year. Committees approved $2 million per year instead; Assemblymember Dickman cast the lone recorded nay.

- Nevada Main Street program: The governor proposed $876,882 over the biennium; the committees approved $250,000 per year instead. Members said they value the program but cited fiscal constraints and ensured awards already in progress would not lose current funding.

- Nevada Knowledge Account (knowledge fund): The governor proposed a large expansion (decision unit E228: $24.3 million and additional interest revenue). The committee voted to maintain the base funding level ($2.5 million per year) and not to approve the governor's $24.3 million enhancement. Assemblymember Dickman cast a recorded nay on the motion to adopt the staff motion that reduced the enhancement.

- Governor's Office of Economic Development — Procurement Outreach (Apex): The governor proposed salary increases for seven positions funded with general fund and a Department of Defense grant. The committee voted to not approve the salary increases; Assemblymember Dickman recorded a nay.

- Small Business / SSBCI and related GOED accounts: Committee members questioned SSBCI disbursement speed. Tom Burns, GOED executive director, said the office has adjusted program terms — including raising allowable collateral percentages in coordination with the U.S. Department of Treasury — to improve take-up and expects those adjustments to accelerate spending. The committee closed the SSBCI, Small Business Enterprise Loan and Rural Community Development accounts as recommended by staff.

- Department of Indigent Defense Services (DIDS): The committee approved several items and declined one enhancement: - Approved: a new administrative services officer position to strengthen agency fiscal management and support compliance duties tied to the Davis consent judgment. - Not approved: a governor-recommended social-worker support services pilot funded by opioid-settlement transfers (the motion to not approve that $300,000-per-year transfer carried). - Approved: a budget amendment to fund a contracted counsel administrator in Nye County to manage appointment and oversight of contract counsel; the motion carried. - Approved other technical and contingent transfer items, including a recommended transfer of post-conviction relief costs contingent on passage of enabling legislation (AB 541).

- Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD): The committee approved a governor recommendation to establish a state public defender branch office in Humboldt County effective July 1, 2025. The recommendation relies on county fee revenues calculated for Humboldt County and reassigns existing vacant positions to staff the new office; the motion carried.

- Subcommittee closing reports: Joint subcommittees reported and the committee accepted closing reports for the Division of Minerals (including membership dues to join the Interstate Mining Compact Commission, contingent on enabling legislation), the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and the Colorado River Commission. All three subcommittee reports were accepted by the full committee.

Votes at a glance (selected accounts)

- Office of New Americans — outcome: approved (motion carried). - Governor's Office of Energy (general & renewable/loan accounts) — outcome: approved (motion carried). Matthew Brown (deputy director) said DOE reported no change; GOE is monitoring. - GOED — Office of Entrepreneurship (decision units): approved partial funding (contract/grant); new position and associated travel: not approved (motion to remove the position carried). - Nevada Film Office — room-tax transfer $250,498: not approved (motion to not approve carried). - Workforce Innovations for a New Nevada — approved at $2,000,000 per year (motion carried; Assemblymember Dickman recorded a nay). - Nevada Main Street — approved at $250,000 per year (motion carried). - Nevada Knowledge Account — base budget approved ($2.5M/year); governor's enhancement $24.3M: not approved (motion carried; Assemblymember Dickman recorded a nay). - Apex / Procurement Outreach — proposed salary increases: not approved (motion carried; Assemblymember Dickman recorded a nay). - DIDS: administrative services officer: approved. Opioid-settlement social-worker pilot ($300k/year): not approved. Nye County contracted counsel administrator (budget amendment): approved. Post-conviction relief cost transfer: approved contingent on AB 541 (motion carried). - OSPD Humboldt County office: approved (motion carried). - Subcommittee reports (Division of Minerals, POST, Colorado River Commission): accepted (motions carried).

What members asked and agencies said

- Federal grant risk: Senator Neal asked whether an April 8–9 federal directive would affect energy grants. Matthew Brown, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Energy, said GOE had contacted the U.S. Department of Energy and “there has not been any change to our current activity of our active grants” and that GOE is “actively monitoring” developments and has contingency plans to move some program elements with alternative funding if necessary.

- SSBCI program uptake: Senator Neal and other members asked why SSBCI funds had not moved faster. Tom Burns, GOED executive director, said the program has competed with more favorable SBA terms and that GOED recently worked with Treasury to raise allowable collateral support (he cited increases up to 85%), which the office expects will increase program uptake.

- Indigent defense and Davis consent-judgment compliance: Fiscal staff and DIDS staff said additional fiscal capacity at DIDS (the new administrative services officer) would free higher-level staff to focus on Davis-related oversight and compliance. The Nye County contracted counsel administrator request was presented as an immediate operational need tied to the county's plan and the court monitor's recommendations.

Next steps and outlook

Several rejected items could return to the Legislature through interim work, separate bill requests or contingency funding through the Interim Finance Committee. The committees authorized fiscal staff to make technical adjustments where noted and, in at least one instance (transfer of post-conviction relief costs), conditioned approval on passage of enabling legislation (AB 541). Members repeatedly emphasized fiscal caution and signaled interest in following up on federal grant risks and SSBCI program adjustments during the interim.

Sources and provenance

This article is based on presentations and debate during the joint committee meeting, including LCB fiscal presentations by Damien Meeks and others, testimony from agency staff (Matthew Brown, Tom Burns), and committee discussion recorded in the official closing-packet transcript for the session. Representative excerpts in the committee record were used to support reporting of agency responses and committee actions.

Ending note: The committees completed an extensive set of closings in a single meeting; several policy and funding questions were left for the interim or contingent on legislation. The committee adjourned after receiving three subcommittee closing reports and hearing no public comment.