State Treasury: Special Session Not Necessary

In an interesting development, the Nevada State Treasurer has announced she doesn't think the upcoming special legislative session is necessary:

State Treasurer Kate Marshall joined fellow Democrats Thursday in saying that Gov. Jim Gibbons' proposed special session of the Nevada Legislature is unnecessary.
She sent letters Wednesday to Gibbons and other state leaders,
informing them the state will have enough money in the bank, more than $200 million, to deal with cash flow issues until the Legislature starts opens its 2009 session in February.
Marshall urged Gibbons and other state leaders to meet and go though the general fund budget to see what could be cut. It would be a far less expensive than convening a special session that costs taxpayers about $300,000 a week, said Marshall, of Reno.

Representatives for the Governor's office argue that Marshall is basing her rosy assessment on inaccurately low estimates of the state's likely budget deficit:

Marshall's assessment is out of date because she based her projections on a $60 million shortfall, Gibbons press secretary Ben Kieckhefer said.
This week, state officials said the amount of the shortfall will rise. Legislative fiscal experts put the shortfall at about $100 million, while some lawmakers said Gibbons' experts are saying the shortfall is about $260 million.

There is one sense in which Marshall's position is probably correct: a special session ostensibly devoted to restoring Nevada's fiscal footing is unlikely to be all that productive when a "no new taxes" governor has the last word. If state lawmakers are to honestly take steps to ensure the future of the state's tax system, all options should be on the table.