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Most legislative sessions don't start with a dress rehearsal. But last week's special session gave a sneak peek at what may lie ahead when the Nevada Legislature's regular session begins in February.

Carson City - So long, balanced budget. Hello, deficit spending. Legislators and Gov. Jim Gibbons announced on Tuesday a tentative agreement to bridge the state's $300 million budget shortfall by making $150 million in cuts and - to spare agencies even deeper cuts - borrowing $150 million from a local government investment account. If the plan is approved by the Legislature during a special session set for Dec. 8, it would be the first time since at least the Great Depression that Nevada has balanced its budget by borrowing money, according to state government observers.

CARSON CITY -- There is a chess game going on between the Legislature and Gov. Jim Gibbons. It could end in a constitutional crisis, or it could lead to the first on-time legislative session in a decade. Share & Save Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites What is this? Most Popular Stories # OFFICER KILLED: Driver: No lights or sirens # Police arrest 28-year-old in Caesars slaying # Body of slain man found near Caesars Palace # NORM: Allergic reaction halts performance # FALLEN POLICE OFFICER REMEMBERED # NORM: Duke goes all-in against Rivers # Woman found stabbed to death # Driver in fatal crash says police cars didn't have lights, sirens on # NORM: Dion's husband OK after heart work # CAESARS PALACE DEATH: Man held in slaying of waiter Lawmakers are desperate to avoid the former, but time is rapidly running out, and any delay at this point could lead to a battle too ugly to contemplate.

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.

At first, Nevada expected little revenue from gaming. Here's how that changed over time. When Nevada legalized gaming in 1931, it was almost an afterthought. The modest levies on card games and slots would be the garnish. The main course through tough economic times, state leaders believed, would be looser divorce laws adopted during the same legislative session to lure unhappy spouses to spend time - and money - in Nevada. The gaming bill's author, freshman legislator Phil Tobin, couldn't know that 78 years later the quality of Nevada's schools, public safety and services to the poor would depend on how much tourists drop in the slot machines and bet at the tables.

Legislative leaders emerged from a closed-door meeting with Gov. Jim Gibbons on Wednesday to insist that nothing more can be cut from the state budget, though a shortfall of $2.4 billion could prompt them to increase taxes when the Legislature next goes into session in 2011.

Legislative leaders and administration officials just finished a conference call and agreed on a "tentative framework" for cutting $331 million to $400 million from the state's budget, Speaker Barbara Buckley said Tuesday evening.

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons said Friday he has reached an agreement with legislative leaders on a bipartisan plan to handle state government's $341.7 million budget deficit without laying off workers or cutting essential services. "This will have a minimal impact on state services," Gibbons said about their plan designed to balance the budget in the fiscal year that ends June 30.