LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As lawmakers prepare to gather for the final day of the session, leaders with the College of Southern Nevada are still waiting to learn if they will fund portions of the proposed Northwest campus, a project that's been in talks for more than 20 years.
On Friday, things hit a bit of a snag when the bill made its way to the Senate Committee on Finance.
Justin Hinton has the latest.
"I can't even describe the level of frustration that I have with this presentation," said Sen. Rochelle Nguyen.
"I am at a loss," said Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro.
A couple of days before, the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means voted to pass the bill, but it only included a $1 appropriation.
As I've reported in the past, that $1 was just a placeholder and was supposed to be amended with the actual dollar amount needed for the project.
"Maybe next session we just put a dollar placeholder on everything, and we just figure out we need billions of dollars at the end," said the chair of the committee Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop.
Senators couldn't understand why the assembly committee passed the bill onto them two days ago without an amendment with a dollar amount.
They passed it in about a minute.
"Forty minutes ago, we were upstairs laughing about how we were going to pay out this dollar, whether it was going to be quarters or pennies," Loop said. "And it wasn't like we were laughing with other people. We were laughing with the bill sponsor."
It wasn't a laughing matter on the dais as they searched for answers.
The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Brian Hibbetts, ultimately apologized.
"Senators, firstly, let me apologize because I made the incorrect assumption that there were discussions between our house and your house. When I was speaking with you earlier, I actually assumed you knew what my plan was, and I shouldn't have. That was my fault," he said.
As the sun rises on the final day of the session, the bill remains in the Senate Committee on Finance.
That committee is scheduled to meet today.
Reuben D'Silva, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, tells me there's still a chance for it to pass with proper appropriation, so I'll keep a close eye on how it moves through the legislature.
In essence, this is the final legislative step to approve funding.
If lawmakers don't, CSN could lose the land.
