Curtis said later he was "not sure" that was influencing the sentiment of the House members. He said he doubted his request to wait on the garage would get very far. "Do I think they'll reconsider it? No," he said. "I think they're kind of humoring me."

Herbert told the board that Curtis "has raised a significant issue, and we need to at least be aware of the potential problems down the road." Board and legislative attorneys were asked to review whether the special session action even permits the project to be stopped.

A special meeting of the board to take up the issue would have to be called by the governor or four of its members. Huntsman is willing to call such a meeting "if needed," his spokesman, Mike Mower, said.

Mower declined to speculate on why at least some lawmakers were having second thoughts about their actions during the special session. "We have just learned about this and need to gather more information," he said.

Work is already under way on the garage. Some $200,000 has been spent moving construction trailers from the south side of the Capitol to make way for excavation crews that are set to start digging within a couple of weeks.

David Hart, the board's executive director, said any delay means the garage won't be ready for the grand reopening of the Capitol scheduled for early January 2008. That may mean he goes ahead with the excavation schedule if a decision hasn't been made by the board.

"If they take too long, I almost have to," Hart said after the meeting.

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