Today, Joe Lombardo’s Department of Corrections announced that it has a nearly $60 million hole in its budget. The Department of Corrections Director, who was appointed by Lombardo, said that the governor has known about the budget shortfall since the fall of 2024; and failed to mention it to the Legislature or address the issue in his proposed budget.
This comes after Lombardo fired his budget director after realizing he proposed an unconstitutionally unbalanced budget that created a deficit of $335 million, which lawmakers said was unprecedented. Earlier this year, just days after touting fiscal responsibility during the State of the State Address, Lombardo’s new state financial system – the one he was “proud to announce that the first phase of the financial system went live on January 2 and is now paying Nevada’s bills” – failed to pay out critical state expenses, including child support and health savings account payments.
Lombardo has a growing history of fiscal irresponsibility and incompetence; in 2023, before vetoing legislation that would have lowered the cost of housing, he requested $25 million of taxpayer money to “go furniture shopping” for his office. Earlier this week, NV Dems sent Lombardo a copy of “Budgeting for Dummies” in hopes that it will help him get a handle on the state’s finances.
Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims:
“Joe Lombardo’s lack of institutional control and handling of our state’s budget has been atrocious and it is clear that the responsibility of leadership is too big for him. In the last three months, Lombardo has proposed a budget with an unconstitutional, nine-figure budget deficit, fired his budget director, rolled out a failing new financial system that couldn’t pay out critical state expenses, and now his Department of Corrections has announced another multi-million dollar budget deficit. At a time when unemployment, food insecurity, and housing costs are on the rise and Trump’s tariffs are raising costs even higher, Nevadans need a leader who will stand up for working class families — that leader is not Joe Lombardo.”
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