• The state is authorized to bond for millions of dollars in new road projects.

• Several new education and scholarship programs begin.

• A new tax is placed on some kinds of chewing tobacco.

• New penalties are in effect for not properly securing a load on the highways. This is an attempt not only to reduce littering but to prevent dropping of dangerous materials that may cause accidents.

• The Legislature's first step to "equalize" the costs of public school construction takes place in Salt Lake County.

• State employees get their annual pay raise, this year about 3 percent.

• State Auditor Austin Johnson gets a big pay raise. His pay is now set at 95 percent of the governor's pay, giving him this year a raise of $18,405. The governor, attorney general and state treasurer also get pay raises, though much smaller — about the same 3 percent as other state employees.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com