House Speaker Lawerence Denney says things aren't as off-track for ending the legislative session as they may seem. "Actually, I think we're doing pretty well," he told Eye on Boise. "JFAC still has one more big battle with personnel costs." The joint budget committee will meet Wednesday morning to take that up. "Once that's decided, I think it's downhill," Denney said. The House is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a gas tax bill, though Denney raised a grain of doubt about whether that vote will happen on Tuesday or not. It'll be "very likely tomorrow," he said, but added, "Personally, I don't know whether we should do GARVEE first. ... GARVEE's still in the Senate, and I don't know whether there's a connection or not - there could be, though, I think." GARVEE is the bonding program - the acronym stands for Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles, a special type of bonding that lets the state borrow against future federal highway allocations - that earlier cleared JFAC, calling for an $82 million bonding program next year.

Said Denney, "I don't think we get done this week, but I think a week from Friday is definitely doable. They're starting to mow the grass, and the smell of the fresh-cut grass - you know, once people decide to go home, it goes fast."