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Subcommittee trims ARPA authority for Project Mint, requires six‑month reports; approves staffing and training requests for Department of Taxation
Summary
The joint subcommittee approved the governor’s ARPA reductions for the Department of Taxation’s Unified Tax System replacement (Project Mint) with a $3.1 million technical carryover, ordered six‑month reporting, and approved several staffing and training items including transfers of legal staffing to the Attorney General.
Carson City — The Nevada Legislature’s joint subcommittee on General Government unanimously approved a set of budget decisions March 19 affecting the Department of Taxation, including an adjustment to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) authority for the department’s Unified Tax System replacement (Project Mint), a requirement for ongoing reporting, and multiple staffing and training actions.
On Project Mint, fiscal staff told the panel the project’s total projected cost is $75.5 million. The governor’s recommended closing removes $43 million in previously authorized ARPA Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds that were authorized and expended in the 2023–25 biennium, and instead recommends a one‑time appropriation of $32.7 million for the 2025–27 biennium (comprised of $29.6 million general fund and $3.1 million previously authorized ARPA funds). The agency’s own projection for the 2025–27 biennium was $35.8 million, about $3.1 million more than the governor’s recommendation; fiscal staff said eliminating that contractor expense would raise project risks.
After discussion, the subcommittee voted to approve the governor’s recommended reductions in ARPA authority with a technical adjustment to reauthorize $3.1 million of ARPA funds in fiscal year 2026 (reducing the FY2026 ARPA reduction from $21.5 million to $18.4 million), and to change the funding source for one Project Mint position from ARPA to the general fund in the base budget. The panel also directed continued oversight by adopting a letter of intent requiring reporting on Project Mint every six months; the motion from Assemblymember Anderson specified the report should include implementation timelines, vendor and contract activity, deliverables received and those behind schedule, and categorical expenditures to date.
On legal staffing, the governor originally recommended two new unclassified general counsel positions within the Department of Taxation (E‑815). Following discussions with the Attorney General’s Office, the Attorney General agreed to add senior deputy attorney general positions to its administrative account instead. The subcommittee approved a budget amendment (A257612‑361) to transfer funds to the Attorney General’s Office to support two additional senior deputy attorney general positions dedicated to the Department of Taxation; the transfer totals $596,278 over the 2025–27 biennium as presented to the subcommittee. Approval of the transfer is contingent on the Attorney General’s Office approving corresponding actions in its own budget.
Other staffing and operations votes included approval of one new tax manager position (decision unit E‑681) to better split supervision across roughly 130 revenue staff and approval of two new training officer positions to develop consistent statewide training materials and reduce supervisory training burdens.
The subcommittee also considered multiple travel and training requests. For specialized tobacco enforcement training (decision unit E‑226), members reduced the governor’s request and voted to fund $6,080 over the biennium from tobacco license fees rather than the general fund. For a broader set of training requests (E‑229) the subcommittee approved $65,077 over the biennium (a reduced amount from the governor’s ask) to give the agency flexibility for appraiser certification, conferences and continuing education. For travel related to audits and revenue collections (E‑230), the panel approved the governor’s recommendation of $112,693 in each year of the 2025–27 biennium to support audit and revenue staff site visits.
Finally, the subcommittee closed 17 other Department of Taxation items as recommended by fiscal staff, including technical adjustments and a budget amendment to cover rent for the Reno office (budget amendment cited in the packet). All votes on Department of Taxation items in the hearing were recorded in the transcript as unanimous voice approvals.
Committee members said they supported continued monitoring of the Project Mint rollout and placed emphasis on balancing project continuity with fiscal oversight.
