CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The 2009 Nevada legislative session is starting, with lawmakers trying to cope with an economic recession that cut deeply into state revenues — and at the same time trying to preserve funding for big-ticket items such as education and human services.

The Democrats in charge of the Assembly and Senate are at odds with Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons over his bare-bones spending plan, although receipt of a lot of federal "stimulus" dollars could ease the budget crisis.

The 2009 session is like nothing seen in decades in Nevada. State budgets usually go up, but due to the recession, Gibbons' spending plan for the next two fiscal years goes down. His $6.2 billion proposal is about 9 percent lower than the current budget.

The governor's proposal also is more than $2 billion short of what state officials say is needed to maintain government services at current levels and deal with inflation and increased demands.