Congestion on Utah's roadways will decrease but some vital open space may be turned into strip malls.

Even in a year with a record surplus and a powerhouse economy, some programs will still get left out.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is pushing Republican leaders in the House and Senate to spend a few million on these neglected areas. But with only two days until the session ends, his success is far from guaranteed.

His two most persistent requests would place an additional $2 million each into the LeRay McCallister open-space fund and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

"Although some in the Legislature say we can ignore what the governor wants, the reality is you can't," said House budget chairman Ron Bigelow.

Huntsman must still sign bills before they become law, giving him the ability to exert pressure on legislators.

He will most likely get the open-space conservation money. The allocation was supposed to be made as part of a three-program environmental bill pushed by House Majority Leader David Clark.

He first requested $15 million split three ways between the open-space fund, the Rangeland Improvement Fund and the watershed improvement project in the Division of Wildlife Resources.

Clark ended up agreeing to $2 million each, but when budget priorities were adopted on Friday, the open-space fund was left out.

"It kind of slipped through the cracks," he said.

Clark said he would push to restore the funding, but he was not as confident about the children's health insurance.

Huntsman originally asked for $4.2 million to cover an additional 10,000 children, but lawmakers have only set aside $2 million.

The governor has asked Republican leaders to try again and they do have some money remaining, most of which will go to road projects or the Rainy Day Fund, the state's emergency account.

All of the leaders have their pet projects and Huntsman has fared well this session. He received funding for his anti-meth initiative and an extended-day kindergarten program.

Clark pushed through a bill to forgive $6 million in low-interest loans Washington County received from the state after the 2004 floods.

House Speaker Greg Curtis landed some public help to build a soccer stadium in his hometown of Sandy.

And Senate President John Valentine has led the charge to turn Utah Valley State College into a full-fledged university.

---

* JOE BAIRD contributed to this report.