Pignanelli: The Senate refusal to confirm Robert Hilder to the Court of Appeals was more than a gun issue. Senators sent a signal they will not "rubberstamp" anything from anyone. However, with Curtis out of the picture and the senators temporarily divided, the popular governor still has a limited opportunity to push his agenda (i.e. health care, ethics, energy) in this vacuum. Otherwise, Speaker Clark and President Waddoups possess more than enough energy and skill to re-establish the pre-eminence of the Legislature in state government.

Webb: The leadership changes offer a fresh start for the Legislature in general and a fresh start in relationships with the governor. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. enjoyed an enormous election win, feels he has a mandate, and isn't worrying about re-election. So he will push harder for his priorities and be more aggressive. But Huntsman is still a negotiator at heart, and the new leadership will push back if they think he is trying to intimidate them. Plenty of natural, healthy tension will continue to exist between the two branches of government.

What do the changes mean to the legislative agenda of health-care, ethics and education reform?

Webb: The two biggest players in health-system reform, Rep. David Clark and Sen. Sheldon Killpack, are now in top positions in the House and Senate. Clearly, health reform will get plenty of attention. Sometimes, however, being speaker or majority leader reduces time spent on specific issues, so others will have to step up. Modest ethics reform can be expected. Education improvement efforts will be constrained by the budget.

Pignanelli: Speaker-elect Clark spent the last several years immersed in health-care issues and is well positioned to push well-crafted reforms. Yet, he faces two obstacles: the time-consuming job of speaker and President Waddoups —who will not approve anything without input (which likely varies from Clark's). Every legislator is promising ethics reform, but do not expect consensus among leadership. Changes to ethics laws are directly correlated to the amount of media attention. The education community, perceived as having won fabulous victories in legislative races, will control any education issues this session.

What can we expect from new legislative leadership?

Pignanelli: For the 2008 session, an "issues-based" focus: budget cuts, inexpensive health-care reform and wrestling over ethics.

Webb: Former Speaker Greg Curtis will be missed in many ways. He was a lightning rod for controversy, but he was a consummate political operative who got things done. Curtis delivered big, important pieces of legislation and was pragmatic, not ideological. He worked collaboratively with many groups and organizations that might surprise outside observers. Will the new Big Four leaders, Clark, Waddoups, Killpack and Garn, have Curtis' legislative skills? Will Clark and Waddoups simply preside and make things run smoothly, or will they put their personal stamps on legislation and push big agendas? Waddoups has always been a bit of an enigma, guarded and somewhat unpredictable in his positions and alliances. It will make for an interesting 2009 session.

Republican LaVarr Webb is a political consultant and lobbyist. Previously he was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and a Deseret News managing editor. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is a Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as House minority leader. His spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a Utah state tax commissioner. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.