The Nevada Sagebrush

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, leads the Assembly during the 26th special session Wednesday. Today the Assembly passed an account sweep bill that the Senate will vote on this afternoon. Photo by Jay Balagna/Nevada Sagebrush.

CARSON CITY — The Millennium Scholarship fund could run out in 2015 if lawmakers can’t find a way to transfer more money into the account during the regular session, which starts in February.

Today, the Assembly passed the “sweeps bill”, A.B. 3, with all but one in favor, and moved it to the Senate. The Senate will vote on the bill later this afternoon. If it passes and the governor signs the bill, which he proposed, it will transfer almost $200 million into the state’s general fund from several accounts, including about $12 million from the Millennium Scholarship fund. Another provision allows $2 million to be put back into the Millennium account, resulting in a total $10 million cut from the scholarship.

“I think the Legislature will be challenged next session on how to get the (Millennium) account back up,” Assemblyman David Bobzien, D-Reno, said. “I’m confident we will find solutions to keep the scholarship going.”

If the Legislature can’t find money to transfer to the Millennium Scholarship, which gives eligible students $10,000 toward school, it will end — making higher education unaffordable for many Nevadans as heard from students in prior testimony.

Bobzien said it could also cause students to attend college out of state. When that happens, they typically don’t come back to Nevada, and the economy will suffer, Bobzien said of what he calls the “brain drain.”

“But in the short term crisis, this is a necessary step,” he said.

Bobzien said passing the sweeps bill helps the Legislature get to the bigger-picture goal of reducing cuts to higher education from 10 percent to 5.

“We’re in much better shape in higher ed than we were a few weeks ago,” Bobzien said.

Check nevadasagebrush.com throughout the special session for daily updates. Jessica Fryman can be reached at jfryman@nevadasagebrush.com.

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• Proposed 6.9 percent NSHE cut will still carry ‘impact’