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Democrats worry he will abuse broad authority to spend taxpayer money By David McGrath Schwartz (contact) Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 | 2 a.m. Click to enlarge photo Gov. Jim Gibbons Related Documents (.pdf) * Attorney general's opinion on stimulus funds * Gibbons' letter to the attorney general's office * Controller Kim Wallin's letter to the Legislative Counsel Bureau Sun Archives * Lawmakers OK Gibbons' stimulus czar (8-24-2009) * Gibbons bypasses lawmakers, names stimulus director (8-18-2009) * Governor, Democrats on brink of showdown over stimulus funds (8-16-2009) * Gibbons skirts legislators in action to oversee stimulus (8-14-2009) * Governor balks at shift of stimulus authority (8-12-2009) * Gibbons ready to tear at legislative patch (8-9-2009) * Legislature reins in Gibbons; Democrats cite incompetence (8-5-2009) * Committee vote delays $10M in stimulus money (8-3-2009) * Democrats reject Gibbons' 'stimulus czar' proposal (8-3-2009) Sun Coverage * Archive of Sun politics stories CARSON CITY - The governor's office gained authority Monday to swiftly and unilaterally spend federal stimulus money without legislative approval, causing some lawmakers to worry that Gov. Jim Gibbons and his successors can now wield unchecked power over taxpayer dollars.

Democrats worry he will abuse broad authority to spend taxpayer money By David McGrath Schwartz (contact) Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009 | 2 a.m. CARSON CITY - The governor's office gained authority Monday to swiftly and unilaterally spend federal stimulus money without legislative approval, causing some lawmakers to worry that Gov. Jim Gibbons and his successors can now wield unchecked power over taxpayer dollars.

Worried about a growing number of changes, miscalculations and a worsening economic forecast, Democratic lawmakers want Gov. Jim Gibbons to tell them how he plans to address the ever expanding budget deficit that has opened since he submitted his proposed budget.

State Sen. Terry Care believes running Clark County is no longer part-time work.\n\nThe region's growth has brought a bigger bureaucracy to oversee and issues too complex to be dealt with by a part-time County Commission, Care says.\n\nThe Las Vegas Democrat will introduce a pair of bills during the 2009 legislative session to make commission seats in Nevada's most populous counties full-time positions and to give commissioners more say over taxes.

Draw no conclusions, we're told, over this coincidence: St. Patrick's Day is also unofficially "Vice Tax" day at the Legislature. The Assembly Taxation Committee is scheduled to hear proposals that would dramatically raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Members of the media - including the Sun - have pointed out the Democratic leadership's refusal to acknowledge taxes will have to be raised to balance the state budget. But these sin taxes are considered the most politically palatable - the low hanging fruit.