Gov. Norm Bangerter's annual "State of the State" address before a joint session of the Utah Legislature Monday night contained no surprises - except perhaps for a new emphasis on environmental quality. In the main, the speech was upbeat and optimistic as the governor said he could "not remember when the future looked brighter."

Citing a robust economy, a year in which 32,000 new jobs were created, some of the lowest unemployment figures in a decade and healthy budget surpluses, the governor had reasons to be optimistic.But as he warned, even this rosy outlook is not enough to meet the huge backlog of state needs that have accumulated during years of economic stagnation.

Bangerter's address was mostly philosophical in nature, as he said that what Utahns want most from government is to be left alone. But he pointed out that the state has basic responsibilities of education, public safety, economic development, environmental quality and efficiency in government.

It was not a rousing, exciting speech, and it was interrupted only three or four times with mild applause. At the same time, there was not a great deal to criticize in the governor's remarks.

As expected, he put most of his emphasis on the crucial needs of education, saying it was "not a public expenditure to be minimized" but was an "investment in the future."

Much of the surplus money from last year, this year and the estimated 1990-91 budget will be devoted to education. As he had indicated earlier, Bangerter said a 6 percent wage package would be offered to teachers. Only about 4 percent of that is higher salary; the rest is to maintain benefits. A similar raise is planned for state employees.

This raise will leave many teachers unhappy. The governor said that if other surplus monies become available, they will be used to increase salaries. But even as Bangerter spoke, the hope for more surplus appeared to have been dashed.

The legislative fiscal analyst's office reported that 1990-91 revenue forecasts indicate $25 million to $30 million less will be available than Bangerter's budget had proposed.

This appears to doom a higher salary package and will put enormous pressure on lawmakers to fund all the programs whose backers are clamoring for more funding. It may be an especially bitter blow to higher education, which had hoped for a boost from additional surplus monies that might become available.

The biggest cheers for Bangerter came when he vowed to bolster law enforcement, to seek tougher penalties for drug-related crimes and to push for double bunking of inmates in crowded prisons. Given the pressures on education, he said he "cannot justify private rooms for prisoners."

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Bangerter said Utah has much to offer companies that might settle in the state and declared that he hoped to see the average family income raised by $5,000 by 1995. If that were to happen, the state could afford to meet its future needs.

However, much of that hoped-for economic prosperity is connected to circumstances around the nation and the world over which Utah has no control.

The only real surprise in the budget message was the governor's announcement that he will create a state Department of Environmental Quality to "lay the foundation for the future" of a clean environment. No details of the new agencey's role were offered.

An improving economy made it possible for Bangerter to be hopeful and optimistic. But the realities are that the state still has more serious needs than it has money. This year and the years to come won't be easy ones for education or any other basic state responsibility.

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