Assuming the people's voice returns by the time the Legislature convenes Monday, it will be calling for a strong investment in education, a cut to the sales tax on food and changes to lawmakers' ethics rules, a new poll by The Salt Lake Tribune shows.

The public is split on other issues on the agenda, including punishing companies that hire undocumented immigrants, protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination and banishing sweet alcoholic beverages from grocery stores.

Utah's Legislature enters the session flush with cash, but with economic storm clouds on the horizon. Lawmakers expect to have more than $1 billion in surplus to juggle, and Utahns, by a large margin, support investing that money in schools.

Forty-nine percent say school spending is the highest priority; 26 percent say a tax cut tops the list.

"As long as I've got kids in education, that'd be one of the most important places for me," said Steve Bawden, 50, of Herriman. "But I don't think it's spent well there."

Bawden is among the Utahns who voted to defeat a voucher referendum in November, because he thought it was poorly written, but he would be open to a refined version should the Legislature go that route.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has put education at the top of his budget priorities.

"There are two areas we really need to focus on, one is quality teachers and if you want quality teachers you have to pay for quality teachers. We're not doing that today," Huntsman said. "And the other is early childhood development, and that is a guarantee that you can deal realistically with the achievement gap."

The telephone survey of 625 registered Utah voters was conducted from Jan. 11 to Jan. 14 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research Inc., and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

All summer long, lawmakers heard an earful from Utah residents who were blindsided by steep increases in their property taxes, and they have responded with several bills to rework the property tax structure and appraisal system. Huntsman has said a targeted property tax reduction is the only one he would consider this year.

But the public has a different priority. Lawmakers in the past two sessions have taken bites out of the sales tax on food. Now, the poll shows, Utahns want another helping.

Forty-four percent of residents said that, if there is a tax cut, it should be on food. Three in 10 wanted to see property tax relief and 19 percent want an income tax cut.

"I really would like to see the tax taken off food," said Lin Jatubczak, a 72-year-old retiree from St. George. "I think that would benefit a lot of people who really need help."

However, legislators who have championed the food tax repeal in the past, like House Speaker Greg Curtis, are not putting it among their priorities, and Huntsman also did not include the food tax repeal in his budget proposal.

Linda Hilton, a low-income advocate with the Coalition of Religious Communities, says there is hope that lawmakers will roll back a portion of the food tax, because it affects everyone, whether they own a home or rent, every day of the year.

"Every time we run the bill we hear, 'Oh, the timing's not quite right,' yet we continue to push on and get success one step at a time," she said. "I think it's a sign of how important the issue is to the public that it won't go away, whether or not it's in the governor's budget, whether or not it's a legislative priority - it continues to be a very important issue."

HB304, unveiled Friday, would reduce the state portion of food sales tax from 1.75 cents to 1 cent per $1 grocery purchase. It is expected to cost the state about $32 million in lost revenues, Hilton said.

The survey found a majority of Utahns, 54 percent, opposes banning malt beverages from grocery stores. Critics say the "alco-pops," sweet alcoholic beverages, are being marketed to underage drinkers and Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, is planning to sponsor legislation to move them to state-run liquor stores.

The poll reflects a snapshot of public opinion before the LDS Church this week formally endorsed the effort to move the beverages out of stores.

"I was for banning it," said Jason Angell, 37, of Payson. "That particular drink appeals to younger people, so why not put it in a store where only the adults can go?"

Other results from the survey showed:

* Utahns slightly favor a comprehensive approach, with a path to citizenship, to illegal immigration over a hard-line policy that includes a border fence, deporting those in the country illegally and punishing those who employ undocumented workers.

* Seventy-two percent support creating an independent ethics commission to investigate complaints against lawmakers. Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake City, is sponsoring a bill that would establish such a panel.

* Forty-four percent of those surveyed support a law protecting people from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, is sponsoring that bill this year, but concedes it will be years before the bill passes the Legislature.

* The same percentage of respondents want to see legislation repealed that lets undocumented students pay in-state college tuition. Forty-five percent oppose sanctions for companies that hire undocumented workers.

* Two-thirds of Utahns support the passage of "Henry's Law," which would make it a felony to torture an animal. The law is named after a dog that nearly died when he was shoved into an oven.

* More than seven in 10 respondents want the state to inspect Utah coal mines. A commission appointed by Huntsman after the collapse of the Crandall Canyon mine killed six miners rejected such a proposal, but endorsed a state office to review plans to mine coal in the state.

* Sixty-one percent of those surveyed like the idea of providing a $1,000 scholarship to high school graduates who complete a college preparatory course.

* Less than a third of Utahns want to drop highway speed limits 10 miles per hour to reduce air pollution.