Stay tuned. The 2009 legislative session might just make it into May sweeps after all.

"Frustration is probably the best way to explain the emotion that I'm having right now," Gov. Butch Otter told the Idaho Statesman during an interview in his office Thursday afternoon.

No wonder.

On Thursday alone, various parts of the Legislature rejected some of his plans on transportation funding, and on spending federal stimulus money.

The first-term governor was evasive when discussing what he would do to deal with the Legislature. In 2005, his predecessor, Dirk Kempthorne, vetoed eight bills in one day and threatened more if the House did not consider his Connecting Idaho bill, which authorized borrowing to build highways. Kempthorne's game of chicken worked.

"All you've got to do is look back, if you've got any historical memory," Otter said. "There's lots of things the governor can do."

He has been unable all session topersuade enough members of the House to pass an increase to the 25-cent-per-gallon state tax on gasoline.

Otter's original plan - a 10-cent increase over the next five years - never made it to a floor vote.

His proposal for a 7-cent increase didn't pass the House. Nor did increases of 5 cents, 4 cents, or 4 cents over two years. Thursday, a 2-cent increase failed too, 37-32.

Otter quickly responded.

"Instead of working in the best interest of Idaho, 37 members of the House continue finding new excuses to do nothing. That is irresponsible," Otter said in a statement released shortly after the vote.

The 37 no votes came from 23 Republicans and 14 Democrats. All four Republican House leaders voted for the measure.

Otter had higher hopes for the 2009 Legislature.

After failing in his 2008 bid to get transportation money, Otter conducted seven meetings across the state and spoke to more than 1,000 citizens before putting together a transportation package.

It included increasing registration fees and fees for specialty plates, taxing rental cars, removing the tax exemption for ethanol, and shifting funding for the Idaho State Police.

"I feel strongly about the issue," he told the Statesman on Thursday. "I think we have made a case in answering all of the questions, all of the doubts. This has been well over two years now. ...

"We've answered all the questions. We've modified our positions. We've done everything we possibly can to convince at least the House."

That transportation plan isn't the only source of disagreement with the governor. He wanted to use $26.8 million from the federal stimulus bill for six major road rehabilitation projects picked by the Idaho Transportation Department.

Instead, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday siphoned some of that money to reduce state payroll cuts ($7.4 million) and pay for an aquifer management plan ($2 million). Then it allocated the remaining $17.4 million to local highway districts, counties and cities that have complained they've been left out of the process.

"Completely unacceptable," said Clete Edmunson, the governor's transportation chief.

Edmunson said local road districts already are getting a higher percentage of the stimulus money than they normally get from federal dollars.

Dividing $17.4 million among 33 counties, 64 highway districts and 192 cities would not be enough to do significant projects and would create a nightmare reporting to the federal government, he said.

And then there are those payroll cuts.

Jason Kreizenbeck, Otter's chief of staff, sent an e-mail Thursday to the House and Senate leaders of both parties and the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee outlining Otter's position on payroll cuts in response to sagging revenues. That position conflicts with what JFAC passed earlier this week - and with the governor's plan last week as e-mailed to lawmakers by another aide.

Kreizenbeck said Otter supports keeping payroll cuts at 5 percent and wants the flexibility to restore 2 percent if the economy stabilizes.

"The governor's position has never changed, despite what the media has indicated," he wrote.

Last week's e-mail from Budget Director Wayne Hammon said Otter's plan "decreases the (payroll cost) reduction from É 5 percent to 3 percent."

JFAC voted not only to reduce the cuts from 5 percent to 3 percent immediately, but to do it by using stimulus money - something Otter also opposes.

So what is Otter going to do?

"I'm not going to talk about that," Otter said.

In other words, stay tuned.

Brian Murphy: 377-6444