Carson chaos: Pot tax killed, ESA talks break down ahead of Legislature's end

Show Caption Hide Caption ESA negotiations break down Lawmakers have been dealing since the beginning of session on how to fund education savings account, the voucher-like program for families to pull their children from public schools. On Thursday, those negotiations blew up.

Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over education savings accounts broke down on Thursday when Republicans blocked a recreational marijuana tax that would have funneled money to public schools.

The vote is a huge step backwards in discussions over education savings accounts, the school voucher like program that Democrats have been fighting over for weeks. It signifies the first stand by Republicans to dig their heels in to fight for ESAs.

Gov. Brian Sandoval’s requested budget relied on marijuana taxes to go to public schools. He also requested $60 million for ESAs.

The bill failed twice on a party line 12-9 vote and left a more than $60 million hole in the budget with four days left in the legislative session. Because it is a new tax, it required a two-thirds majority.

“If we do not pass this bill, we create a hole in our budget,” said Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford, D-Las Vegas.

Democrats responded in kind by passing an amended K-12 education budget that shifted the $60 million the governor requested for ESAs to plug the public funding gap. Republicans were not on the floor for to vote for the budget.

Sandoval said Thursday's events reflected the tenor of dealings over the course of session and didn't signal Republicans were anti-education.

"I'm disappointed in the result and believed we had been negotiating with Democratic leadership on ESAs and their priorities in good faith," he said. "I understand why the Republicans voted against the marijuana tax and any suggestion that their actions were anti-education is not correct."

Analysis: Why do politicians wait until the last minute for big deals?

Ford and Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said in a joint statement following the votes that their respective caucuses planned on moving forward with passing a budget.

"Over the past several weeks we have attempted to maintain an open dialogue and good-faith negotiations with Republicans working towards what we hoped could be a bipartisan compromise on education funding," they said. "Unfortunately, time and time again Republicans have undermined these discussions by moving the goalposts and refusing to meet us halfway."

While Ford chided Republicans for voting down the tax twice, state Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, said his stand was pure politics. Hammond is the main proponent and architect of the ESA program and Democrats killed his bill earlier in the year without a hearing, giving deference to the governor’s instead.

“I just think it’s disingenuous to start lecturing everybody here about what this vote really means,” he said. “I think we all know what this vote really means.”

Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, said Republicans have held the same position since before session started.

"If Democrats in the Legislature do not want to come to the table in good faith and have this discussion, that is their prerogative," he said. "But let me make this absolutely clear: I will not vote for a final budget that does not include funding for ESAs. No ESA funding, no budget."

A release from Assembly Republican leadership said the two sides were close to a deal just hours before the Senate vote, but Democrats had been negotiating in bad faith.

"We want to make one thing very clear – we have been willing to work with all involved parties from day one, and any speculation that we ‘moved the goalposts,’ or were in any way unclear throughout these negotiations is disingenuous," leadership said in the release.

Senate Republicans voted against the remaining budget bills as a response. The bill containing capital improvement projects failed by a party line 12-9 vote.

The capital improvements bill included a provision allowing the issuance of $41.5 million in bonds for the construction of a new engineering building for the University of Nevada, Reno, $42 million for a new Department of Motor Vehicles building in Reno and $33 million in general funds for the Northern Nevada Veterans Home.

If lawmakers can't come to an agreement on a capital improvements budget, those projects could stall.

Passed in 2015 by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, the education savings accounts are a school voucher-like program that gives public money to families who pull their children from Nevada’s school system. The Supreme Court declared the program constitutional, but said it needed a dedicated funding mechanism and could not pull from school funds.

Nevada Legislature: State ESA program explained Education savings accounts - the school voucher program passed in 2015 - are shaping up to be the divisive issue during the Nevada Legislature.

Sandoval said at the beginning of session that funding ESAs were his top priority and requested $60 million from lawmakers. Sandoval also proposed a pot tax similar to the one voted down on Thursday.

What’s followed is a protracted battle between Democrats, who openly despise the idea of giving public money to private schools, and Republicans who consider it the top priority.

The argument first started to heat up Monday when Democrats called a surprise hearing on the ESA bill that effectively railroaded progress.

More: No deal yet on ed savings accounts; GOP members not pleased

Democratic Assemblyman Justin Watkins of Las Vegas, the sole Democrat who publicly supports the program, introduced a conceptual amendment that was radically different from what the governor requested.

Watkins’ amendment would have taken the money from private donations in the form of tax credits, but reduced funding by 50 percent to $30 million over the next biennium. It also included a sliding scale for awards based on income.

Thursday’s vote amplifies the possibility that lawmakers won't finish by the Monday deadline. Many Republicans have said all along they would not pass a budget unless the program is funded.

If the governor vetoes the budget and lawmakers can’t come to an agreement, it triggers a shutdown starting July 1 until they come to a solution.

Also at risk is a Democratic slate of bills either waiting to be passed or already on Sandoval’s desk. If the ESA negotiations tank, bills relating to green energy, health care, a minimum wage increase and criminal justice reform are all at risk of earning a veto.

Jenny Kane contributed to this report.

This post has been updated with more information.