"And it would probably be unconstitutional for us" to overturn executive orders, Ure said. "So what do we do?"

Most executive orders are innocuous, such as declaring a flood-hit region a disaster area or creating an Outdoor Recreation Economic Ecosystem Task Force. Huntsman did both this year.

But there are also some far-reaching executive orders.

In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, former Gov. Mike Leavitt ordered state agencies to report to and comply with directives from his new Chief Information Officer on all technical/security matters.

If lawmakers had disagreed with that order, they would have had to wait until the next general session to pass a countermanding statute, which would have raised the question of which document would rule.

If a state activity such as economic development can run without appropriate legislative oversight, Ure said, "why not just have two branches of government (executive and judicial). We wonder if there should be no oversight of executive orders, except by those who issue the orders."

The governor's changes to the state's approach to economic development — a cornerstone of Huntsman's 2004 gubernatorial campaign that he is now implementing amid some controversy — have nothing to do with current legislative concern over executive order oversight, Ure said.

In other quarters, however, Huntsman was heavily criticized for firing 33 economic development/tourism officials his first two weeks in office. At his request, legislators during the 2005 session had put economic development in his office and reorganized the old department of Community and Economic Development.

After the session, Huntsman moved to hire the private economic development firm that had been run by his new economic development czar, Chris Roybal. That contract is still in the works.

Finally, Huntsman had a hiccup in one hire within his new economic development team — the father of one of his top staffers was named to a development post but resigned when the governor's office adopted a new anti-nepotism rule. "This policy will help us avoid any future perception of favoritism," Huntsman said in a statement detailing the new policy.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; twahlquist@desnews.com