TONOPAH -- Nye County officials need to keep a close eye on the Nevada Legislature, particularly if the state continues to lag behind the national recovery and stimulus money is no longer available, Jeff Fontaine told Nye County commissioners Tuesday.

The director of the Nevada Association of Counties said, "We're not sure where the governor is in terms of a special session. Revenues are down, but the state still has the ability to tap into the Local Government Investment Pool. They have not done that so far.

"That's a $160 million line of credit.

Fontaine said that could forestall the need for a special session. "But 2011 is going to be very difficult. The state has built a budget on tax increases that sunset on federal stimulus money."

By sunset, Fontaine means a number of tax increases passed by the 2009 Legislature will expire in two years. A study on the Nevada tax structure bears close watching by county officials, he said.

Another state committee will study county home rule. Changes to that law would allow counties to make certain decisions on their own without getting approval from the state Legislature first.

Fontaine said counties have already given $235 million to the state budget, mostly from property taxes in Clark and Washoe counties, but also the indigent accident fund from all counties and revenues from geothermal leases.

Before counties have to close libraries and parks, Fontaine said, "We think it's time for the Legislature and the executive branch to do their job."

Fontaine said the possible closure of the Tonopah Honor camp is back on the table for consideration Nov. 10. Last March, members of a Nevada Assembly subcommittee told a Tonopah delegation the Nevada Department of Corrections would continue to fund the honor camp.

"We thought no meant no," Commissioner Joni Eastley said about the planned closure.

"It meant no at the time. The Board of Prisons is at the point where they have to furlough people," Fontaine said.

Fontaine told Eastley he would recommend her appointment to the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects, an appointment she sought in vain in 2008, during a meeting Nov. 15 in which representatives will be appointed from the counties.

Renewable energy companies that want tax abatements have to appear before county commissioners to request them after legislation passed in the 2009 session. The county can recommend to the State energy commissioner whether the abatements should be granted, Fontaine said.

Eastley is a member of a rural subcommittee on indigent defense. Fontaine said mandatory caseload standards for public defenders in rural counties are still a possibility that could end up costing money.

On the federal front, Fontaine warned about the reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, which among other things, removes the term "navigable waters," which would exclude many areas from the act.

On another issue, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has proposed relocating wild horses to the Midwest, he said.

Mining reform is stil very much an issue at the federal level, and payment in lieu of taxes to counties for federal land is also continuing to be discussed, Fontaine said.

NACO has also been working to try to obtain as much federal stimulus money as possible, Fontaine said.

"On road funding, the rules have changed and things have not gone smoothly. But I think you're in good position to get some of that money for your roads," Fontaine said.

NACO will have a standing committee on public lands, he said. They also plan to hold a public workshop on RS 2477 roads.