What the U.S. Congress will do, if the resolution passes, is unclear. Utah Sen. Bob Bennett indicated in an interview with the Credit Union Journal Daily last week it isn't likely Congress will give the issue much notice, even if the resolution passes.

"I don't think the chairman has any interest in this issue, and if the chairman has no interest I don't see it going anywhere in the committee," Bennett told The Credit Union Journal Thursday, referring to U.S. Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard Shelby, R-Alabama.

"I just don't see Congress doing anything with it," Bennett told the Journal, adding that the credit union tax issue was debated in the 1990s and that "there's no appetite to revisit it."

Bennett's spokeswoman, Mary Jane Collipriest, verified the accuracy of the statements attributed to him.

"The quotes in the credit union publication are accurate with respect to how Sen. Bennett sees the current state of mind of Chairman Shelby and members of the Banking Committee with respect to this resolution," Collipriest wrote in an e-mail reply to the Morning News. "However, Sen. Bennett also reiterated to this reporter that he is always respectful of the views and work of the state Legislature and will continue to watch this with great interest as it proceeds through the process."

Alexander said that in a conversation he had with Bennett late last week, Bennett "called to say that he is definitely interested in what happens in the Utah Legislature, and that as soon as he is able to get it on an agenda, he will."

Bennett did not convey, either to Alexander or to the Morning News, which way he would vote on the issue, if it came to that. However, Alexander said, "he wants to know what's going at the Utah Legislature, and if we send information back there, he is interested in having it heard in a caucus."

HJR1 was placed on the Utah Senate's "consent calendar," where it will stay for three days. At the end of three days, it will be presented without debate and voted upon for final passage.

However, if during the three days three senators object to it being on the consent calendar, it will be removed and placed at the bottom of another calendar, where it may be debated.

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com