Curtis and Valentine agree there could be some economic downturns — or at least a slowing of growth — in the months ahead. But there is just too much new tax surplus and ongoing revenue growth to spend it all.

As Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, chair of the House's Conservative Caucus, said: The best way to slow government growth is not to spend every dime, as some legislators may want, but to "take some money off the table through tax cuts — that ensures it can't be spent."

House Republicans' $100 million tax cut "is a low-water mark, I believe," said Hughes. "It should be at least that."

Even though legislators will again pump hundreds of millions of dollars into road reconstruction — especially freeways in Utah and Salt Lake counties — don't look for a gasoline tax hike to help pay for it.

Utah still is seeing record tax growth overall, even if the gas tax is not keeping up with construction demands. And Jones found that 68 percent of Utahns "strongly" or "somewhat" oppose raising the gasoline tax, especially in light of record-high gasoline prices at the pumps.

Huntsman said while the gas tax hasn't been increased recently, "we have a lot of bonding capacity" that beyond 2008 could be used to raise hundreds of millions of dollars each year "to get (roads) where they need to be. We are in the best fiscal state of any state in the nation," Huntsman said.

All the leaders agreed, however, that final tax cut and budget numbers won't be decided until late February revenue updates come in.

Public education

All three men said part of the Legislature's budget-setting process will be record spending on public education. Some Republicans want to give all teachers a flat $2,500 pay raise — as legislators did last year.

And Jones found that Utahns also like that idea. As reported Friday, 75 percent of Utahns want teachers to get that raise again.

The flat raise goes along with what legislative Republicans are also looking at — more accountability and flexibility in paying Utah's 23,000 public school teachers. That could mean nine-month contracts, performance accountability, higher pay for science and math teachers or other changes to "education as usual."

In fact, it has been a pretty good couple of years for public schools and public education teachers, says Susan Kuziak, executive director of the Utah Education Association, the main teacher union.