It takes a two-thirds vote for a bill to become law immediately. Without two-thirds, a law takes effect 60 days after the governor signs it. Any vote of Utahns to raise taxes for transit must come on the Nov. 7 ballot, less than 60 days away. So lawmakers would need to approve a quarter-cent sales tax for the $900 million in projects by two-thirds votes in the special session.

And those votes clearly are not there now in the Senate. Still, transit advocates have two weeks to twist reluctant senators' arms.

"Obviously it's the Senate where we still have to work," said Lane Beattie, president of the Salt Lake Chamber. "Once they get enough information about this, I'm sure there will be enough support to put it on the call."

The bill, as currently drafted, would allow Salt Lake County officials to levy a quarter-cent increase in the sales tax dedicated to transportation — if given approval by voters this November. About 48 percent would go to mass transit expansion, while 52 percent would be for road improvements and corridor preservation.

House members, however, voted Tuesday to support a second bill allowing all counties served by the Utah Transit Authority to levy a sales tax increase. The chamber plans to lobby senators to support the bill.

In Salt Lake County, the increase, either way, would be in lieu of an $895 million property tax bond that Salt Lake County decided in July to place on the ballot. That bond would pay for construction of four new TRAX lines over the next seven years and would be paid back over 30 years with a property tax increase.

Under the sales tax bill, no specific projects have been listed to receive the funding. If ultimately approved, regional transportation planners would need to prioritize where the money would go, said Bruce Jones, general council for the Utah Transit Authority. That may mean work on one or two of the TRAX lines would be postponed if commuter rail through Salt Lake County is determined to be more of a priority.

"The details are still undetermined," Jones said.

Huntsman, who supports the transit proposal, made short visits to both the House and Senate meetings Tuesday to argue in favor of both the "dual-track" personal income tax system and the transportation sales tax hike.

Acknowledging that Utah's economy is booming (the state had a $351 million surplus at the end of June's fiscal year),

Huntsman said tax reform and transportation investments aren't for this year or even next. "It's what this state will look like in 20 years" that should sell legislators on the tax-and-transportation changes now, he said.