Legislature has new faces but same ol' politics

"This has been a pretty mellow session politically," said Curtis, his first as speaker. "Huntsman's style is direct, straightforward." No harsh words or threats over the budget or bills. "He just told us want he wanted and asked for our help."

"I've worked with four governors, and Huntsman has the freshest view of government," Valentine said. While Huntsman and his staff had little legislative experience, they are also bright and able. "Huntsman understands people," he said.

"We chose not to use a heavy-handed approach" in dealing with legislators, said Jason Chaffetz, Huntsman's chief of staff. Although he admitted Huntsman and much of his top staffers "were a bunch of rookies" in the legislative process, "we did pretty well."

Huntsman did not attend a closed GOP caucus, as each of his Republican predecessors sometimes did, pressing party colleagues for his positions.

"I'm a trained diplomat, not a politician," Huntsman said Wednesday.

And last week Democrats got some of what they wanted. "We even got $50,000 for (Senate Minority Leader) Mike Dmitrich (D-Price) for the Moab music festival," Valentine joked.

What did the new, cramped Senate and House chambers and committee rooms mean?

"A lot more people got sick," House Majority Whip Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, said.

The old chambers in the Capitol had 40-foot ceilings, with large public galleries making up the second-stories.

Rep. LaVar Christensen, R-Draper, said the new "officelike" chambers "makes for a more casual atmosphere. The old chambers elevated the dialogue and demeanor" of debate.

Yet the change of facilities may or may not have softened the rhetoric, as several veterans said the politics of the 2005 Legislature was less harsh.

"The tone has been more congenial," said Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful. Much of that is because "we didn't see the games played" as in some recent sessions. "The bills, for the most part, went to the right committees" for public hearings.

For example, even though the tuition tax-credit bill was killed after lively House floor debate, this year it logically had its public hearing in the Education Committee, not the Law Enforcement Committee like it did last session.

Allen is a leader in the so-called "mainstream" moderate GOP caucus, a group that she admitted saw little action this session.

"The friction between the mainstream caucus and the conservatives has abated," she said, even with tuition tax credits and some other conservative-loved bills voted down or pushed aside this year.

Christensen, a noted conservative, and Allen agree that is because the proper process was followed, and even those who saw their bills or funding defeated believe they received a fair hearing.