• Some unused cash sitting as "nonlapsing non-lapsing funds" in a number of colleges and universities were left alone. That was because some of those institutions "have already spent them," said House Budget Chairman Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley.

GOP budget leaders actually changed the way they "swept" various cash-holding accounts specifically because they feared that some colleges and universities — seeing more budget cuts coming in January — would spend down their cash accounts before lawmakers could take the one-time monies next year. Lawmakers took those monies now.

• Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, explained to House members the difficulty that lawmakers face in funding billions of dollars in new road projects.

While no new road bonding was approved in the special session — something a few Democrats decried (Huntsman also suggested more road bonding) — Utah continues to pour "around $200 million a year in sales tax into roads."

That is needed, said Lockhart, because no longer does the financially-troubled financially troubled federal government provide needed road money to states. Utah taxpayers are putting up 85 percent of the road money, she said. "But about 16 percent of the General Fund" spending has something to do with vehicles — like the Utah Highway Patrol — and so that is not necessarily a bad thing.

• Even with the budget cuts adopted Friday, Utahns should understand just how much new money has gone into public and higher education, Hhuman Sservices, Ccorrections and other critical programs over the past last few years.

For example, before Friday's 3 percent — $272 million — budget cuts, state government has grown by 39.7 percent from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2009. With those budget cuts, government has grown by 37.9 percent, said Bigelow. And legislators have also cut taxes every year over that time, as well.

Despite that growth, Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said that the Legislature is still often portrayed as the villains when it in comes to education funding. So cutting education funding just as the new school year is starting "would be like picking up a stick to tweak yourself."

• Huntsman and some other legislators were able to turn back the GOP leaders' original plan of repealing an $18 million tax cut for Utahns who buy their own health insurance. That tax cut will still take effect Jan. 1.

Huntsman said that he was willing to compromise on his initial proposal to bond for some projects in exchange for preserving the tax break. It is an important part of his health system reform effort.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; lisa@desnews.com