Why is legislative session so tame?

All heck is breaking loose in legislatures across the country as lawmakers engage in epic battles over public employees union representation, budget cuts, immigration, and Medicaid reform. But in Utah, legislative fireworks aren't even as traumatic as NBA player trades.

With less than two weeks to go in the session, why are things so smooth in Utah?

Pignanelli: "The good legislator learns that when you talk a lot, you get in trouble. When you listen a lot, you make deals." — Bob Woodward. While chuckling at the Legislature is Utah's second favorite winter sport, fairness dictates that the important achievements should be acknowledged.

Most of the "message" and stranger bills have been handled with efficient dispatch. Immigration is generating tremendous argument, but the hearings throughout the summer, combined with generous allotments of debate time at the Capitol, provide a sense of serious deliberation and respect for various viewpoints. (Indeed, GOP senators allowed Democrat Luz Robles' immigration legislation to the Senate floor). The reach for consensus in pension reform last year is providing a template for necessary changes in Medicaid and other government operations this year. "Accountability" and "transparency" buzzwords are used in greater frequency than the controversial moral labels.

House Speaker Rebecca Lockhart deflected tremendous external pressure to force legislators to abandon their controversial bills, thereby maintaining her commitment that the process (and not leadership) must determine the fate of individual legislation (she has been proven right). Senate President Michael Waddoups has allowed the strong personalities among his flock to pursue their agenda.

Despite the major disagreements, no major policy is being shoved down the throats of the unwilling. Consequently, any protest gatherings have been limited and tame.

Webb: Utah certainly is a sea of tranquility compared to many states. The happy reality is that Utah leaders have been fiscally realistic and responsible for many decades. That frugality is paying off in a huge way in today's economic doldrums. In states where public employee unions have run the show, legislators are grappling with massive deficits and all sectors face wrenching cuts.

But at least most states are dealing with their problems and taking courageous action. Good for them. The federal government, by contrast, is still postponing its day of reckoning. But it will come.

Utahns, and their policymakers, are wrestling with immigration reform. Can lawmakers defy the odds and construct a solution?