But Utah Gov. Olene Walker is enjoying the budget process a little more this year. With state revenues projected to increase as much as $220 million next year, the governor said she hopes to restore funding to state departments and initiatives that have suffered from past budget-cutting.

"It's obvious that it will be a much more pleasant task putting the budget together this year than it was last year," Walker said Thursday at her monthly KUED news conference. "Last year, revenues were flat. We do have more revenue to look at this year."

Walker is expected to release her second - and final - budget the middle of next month. She refused to say specifically where additional funding will go, but hinted that teacher salaries and the per-pupil funding formula could be increased. And some of the money could be dropped into a state open-space fund. Walker balked at lawmakers' suggestion of taking $180 million out of the General Fund to pay for road construction.

Utah's $2,182 base rate of state spending for each student is lowest in the nation.

"We've had four years where we've had very little increase in either the [per-pupil funding] or the salaries," Walker said. "We're hoping that revenues are such that we can see some increase in those areas. We'll have to wait until the budget comes together to make that final decision."

Walker said Gov.-elect Jon Huntsman Jr. has had a staff member in every budget hearing and should have a chance to "make any changes that he sees fit in the budget that we put forth."