House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, said he was unsure if he had a majority among House Republicans. Curtis, Huntsman and Senate President John Valentine met earlier this week and discussed Legacy again. "We were told no billboards," said Curtis.

Settlement supporters may need to turn to Democrats to approve the agreement.

But Democrats are wary.

"We took no votes" in the House Democratic caucus, said Becker. If the special session on the Legacy settlement were held today, Becker couldn't guarantee that half of the House Democrats would vote for it.

"There are all kinds of concerns" from truckers, from environmentalists and others, he said.

The billboard issue will be a new one for many Democrats, and maybe a few Republicans as well, said Becker.

Valentine, R-Orem, said the legislators involved in the negotiations are scheduled to talk with the plaintiffs again today. He blamed the last-minute difficulty with finalizing the agreement on differing opinions about the meaning of certain terms.

But Valentine said the goal remains to renew work on the road project before winter. That means approving the deal in a special session rather than waiting until the 2006 session begins in January.

"We really think that, in the end, this can be worked out," Valentine said.

Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, was also optimistic. "It's basically just a clarification issue," said Killpack, one of the legislators involved in Legacy negotiations.

While Killpack said there's an outside chance it can't be worked out, he added that "everyone wants to avoid that."

---

'Framework' of provisions

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, the state signed an agreement-in-principle with plantiffs in the 2001 suit that halted construction of the Legacy Parkway.

The agreement is a "framework" that lawmakers are using to craft a final settlement. On Nov. 9, the Legislature is expected to meet in a special session to approve the final settlement.

The agreement-in-principle includes the following provisions:

"no billboards."

a prohibition of "trucks" on Legacy.

speed limit set at 55 mph.

acquisition of 125 additional acres for Legacy Nature Preserve

$2.5 million for environmental study of light rail and bus rapid transit in south Davis County.

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com; bbjr@desnews.com; lisa@desnews.com