Legislature's best, worst — and what it all means

Pignanelli: Best pit bull in a suit: Sen. Curtis Bramble will chew on the leg of anyone, regardless of party affiliation, who dares to oppose him (I lost several pounds of flesh this session). When not dissecting adversaries, Bramble expended his considerable energy to reforming taxation, RDA and immigration policies.

Best statesman: Senate President John Valentine delegated the heavy lifting of weighty issues to Sens. Bramble and Michael Waddoups (who courageously questioned IHC activities) while he maintained a serene public persona. Valentine let the House gang pummel the governor's office while he enhanced his personal relationship with Jon Huntsman Jr.

Worst vote counters: Tuition tax credit supporters proclaimed (to the point of obnoxiousness) they possessed a clear majority of representatives who supported their proposals. Personal phone calls from the governor to legislators could not deliver the victory they anticipated. The final vote was 34-40-1.

Best reason to move the Capitol to Provo: Valentine, Majority Leader Jeff Alexander and the rest of the delegation from Happy Valley ran the show — relocating the State House will save commute time.

Worst reason to pass a bill: Legislation to strip drivers' licenses from undocumented workers was justified because a recent audit suggests 14 of the 85,000 illegal immigrants with these permits may have voted in 2004. (I wager more dead people "cast ballots" than these noncitizens.)

Worst reason to defeat a bill: Using questionable logic that "a crime is a crime," lawmakers killed hate-crimes legislation that would have enhanced penalties for offenses against people based on bigotry — but increased penalties for people who desecrate the body of a person they just murdered.

Best prime minister: Speaker Greg Curtis provided more than just administrative guidance to the House, he set state policy by determining what initiatives (from the governor and Senate) would be enacted and those that would be further studied.

Best demonstration of family values: Legislative intern Ben Kingery proposed marriage to fellow intern Gaby Bradford on the Senate floor, before a chamber of amused senators and a gallery of confused lobbyists. Of course, these two budding politicos are Democrats who work for Democratic legislators.

Worst example that imitation is flattery: For years Sen. Patrice Arent has authored legislation to prevent storage of higher levels of radioactive waste. After the sale of Envirocare, expressing concern with such dumping became a newfound fad among politicians. Republican senators wasted no time sponsoring and passing legislation remarkably similar to the proposals pushed by Arent, with little credit to her efforts.