Think of it as a fumble in football.

With minutes remaining in the 2005 Legislative session, Utah County leaders figuratively "dropped the ball" on legislation to benefit the county's commuters.

They also received no funding for a distance learning center at Utah Valley State College — and suffered a setback with an annexation bill.

Lawmakers and lobbyists are laughing at the losses. Transportation planners are lamenting lost opportunities: Utah County was supposed to be a powerhouse this session, with a high number of legislative leaders hailing from "Happy Valley."

"They had a wonderful one-time opportunity here," said John Inglish, general manager of the Utah Transit Authority. "All they got was a couple of bucks and a Band-Aid."

Inglish was referring to two transportation bills that didn't pass in the waning minutes of the session. HB18 provided a mechanism for $30 million to go to expansion of I-15 in Utah County. SB183, which was amended late Wednesday in the Senate, called for unification of Utah County as a transit district and provided for a special election to raise taxes for transit.

If approved by voters, the increase would have gone directly toward construction of commuter rail into the county.

"It's up to them now," said Inglish. "The way it stands right now, there is no mechanism that will allow Utah County (commuter rail) to be built. There are no operating funds for it, and there are no capital funds for it, and we have plenty of projects to focus on."

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, laments the losses. "We fumbled," he said.

But the game's not over yet.

On April 20, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has called a special session to debate HB135, which challenges the reach of the "No Child Left Behind" program into Utah schools. A bill to raise salaries for the state's executives will likely be on the agenda — and HB18.

While some provisions of HB18 may not pass — including a section that proposed diversion of millions in sales tax dollars to transportation — Valentine is confident Utah County will get its $30 million for I-15.

"It's like sitting in the third quarter of the football game and you fumble," he said. "If you've got a good team and you feel you can put that score on the board, you'll win. I've got a good team, we're in the third quarter, and I believe in the ability of the team to finish it."

While commuter rail is seen to be "critical" for residents who sit in congestion on I-15 each morning, Utah County leaders say the transit bill may have to wait until next year.

Expansion of I-15 comes first.

"By putting additional fill lanes (from the Point of the Mountain to 1300 South in Provo), it has two advantages," he said. "It gives us additional carrying capacity and it gives us the ability to add two lanes each way. It also buys us time to do the commuter rail solution, which we're trying to get the residents to embrace in Utah County."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com