Lawmakers took a different approach to the budgeting process this session in an attempt to both speed up the budget approval and get more legislators involved.

First, legislators passed a base budget, which basically mirrored last year's budget. For the most part, that budget went smoothly, with a minor bump in the road because of a last-minute appropriation on $70 million in new money to transportation.

Following that, leaders budgeted the more than $600 million in new revenue and appeared to have come to an agreement almost a week before the session ended. But when those budget bills, SB1 and HB301, hit the floors, House members added a $4.5 million appropriation for a veterans nursing home in Ogden to SB1 and effectively stalled both of them.

Because of that amendment, legislative leaders spent the final three days behind closed doors, attempting to find a compromise. Eventually, the proposed agreement — to fund the nursing home and a pilot program for the Drug Offenders Reform Act — failed.

Despite the final night scrambling that the amendment caused, legislative leaders spoke very favorably about the overall process.

"I have never been this relaxed on the last day of the session," said Senate budget manager Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. "I'm very happy with the budget. There are things that anyone can find not to like, but it's a very good budget."

House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander, R-Provo, said that he was pleased to have approved the base budgets early enough that they were not an issue in the final nights.

"To have the base budgets out of the way that early really helped us through the rest of the session," Alexander said.

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Contributing: Jennifer Toomer-Cook, Tiffany Erickson and Amy Joi Bryson.

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com