Skousen, allegedly Huntsman's hit man who fired Committee of Consumer Services Director Roger Ball, was slated to get nearly seven times the pay increase of other department heads before dueling "executive compensation" bills collided and crashed on the last night of the legislative session.
The issue probably will come back in a special session.
The Senate bill originally had Skousen getting a 28 percent increase while most other department heads would settle for a 9 percent hike. The first substitute gave everyone a 4.5 percent increase and a second substitute gave everybody 4.5 percent except Skousen, who was back up to 28 percent.
Several amendments to the House bill had Skousen, at one point, getting 33 percent.
See what can happen when you are a good boy and whack the big, bad people who are mean to utility companies?
Meanwhile: Another casualty of the "executive compensation plan" failure was state Agriculture Commissioner Leonard Blackham, who wanted his very own car - paid for by the taxpayers, of course. His Senate friends also wanted him to have his very own car, but that stalled in the House.
Cause and effect: Blackham, the longtime Republican senator from Sanpete County, was nearly defeated in the Republican primary by Darin Peterson, who had been a state representative from that area, and had support from several GOP senators.
After Blackham was re-elected, however, Agriculture Commissioner Cary Peterson, a former member of the Senate club, retired and, lo and behold, Blackham was appointed to replace him. That left Blackham's seat open for (drum roll, please) Darin Peterson - Cary Peterson's son.
Connecting the dots here?
So when Blackham wanted a car, he was supposed to get a car, as far as his Senate colleagues were concerned. Members of the House, however, felt a little squeamish about giving huge pay increases to political appointees and supplying a millionaire turkey farmer with a state-funded car while keeping public employee wages stagnant and reducing their retirement health care benefits.
Jekyll and Hyde? Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff may have to adopt a split personality soon.
Shurtleff, who as the state's top attorney is charged with defending the government and its laws against lawsuits, may be dueling some of his own assistant attorneys general.
Several lawyers in ShurtÂleff's office are among the throng of public employees irate over the Legislature's recent action that virtually eliminates their ability to trade unused sick leave for health insurance when they retire.
The mutinous attorneys are discussing filing a lawsuit against the state, which their boss would have to defend.
It's the principal: The State Office of Education recently mailed a letter addressed to the "Principle" at Jackson Elementary School in Salt Lake City.
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Paul Rolly welcomes e-mail at prolly@sltrib.com.
