Admittedly, the Senate did pass Huntsman's H3. But the upper body would only agree to cutting 2 percentage points off of the 4.75 percent food sales tax.

The last night of the session, after $70 million had been taken out of the Utah personal income tax receipts next year for a tax cut, the House refused to adopt H3, some members talking the Senate bill to death.

Huntsman quickly said he'd call a special session this spring and force the House to take a vote on income tax "reform."

But then Tax Commission economists discovered a $35 million mistake in the H3 fiscal note — and Huntsman said it all would have to wait until the 2007 Legislature.

But House Republicans wanted the $70 million tax cut to at least be voted into law before they faced voters this fall.

And at the GOP Salt Lake County Convention last Saturday, a number of legislative challengers to incumbents complained loudly that GOP lawmakers were Republicans in name only — how could any true conservative not cut taxes when the Legislature faced a $1 billion surplus this year?

While GOP senators just waited for Huntsman and House leaders to force the "H3" issue, GOP House leaders came up with the "win-win," two-option compromise.

And Republican senators are, again, put into a political position of killing what seems to be the perfect political solution on personal income tax reform in an election year.

Many House Republicans are smiling. GOP senators are frowning and stumbling to explain their opposition.

And Huntsman is starting to count votes in each house, hoping for a summer special session that will give Utahns a $70 million income tax cut and trim the state's income tax rate on most residents by 2 percentage points.

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Deseret Morning News political editor Bob Bernick Jr. may be reached by e-mail at bbjr@desnews.com