State budgets in two prominent states that promised a grim fiscal year for higher education just a few months ago have taken a turn for the better.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California announced today a new budget plan with a smaller fiscal shortfall of $15-billion and a proposal to borrow that amount against future state-lottery profits, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Earlier this month the governor, a Republican, was warning of a $20-billion budget gap.

Borrowing against lottery proceeds, a plan that would have to be approved by voters in November to go into effect, could allow the Golden State to avoid some of the painful budget cuts that the governor had proposed in January, including a 10-percent reduction in higher-education spending. The California State University system issued a news release saying that the revised plan would restore nearly $98-million to its budget for next year, but $288-million in cuts were still possible.

In New Jersey, lawmakers got welcome news that the state had collected $533-million more in tax revenue in 2007 than anticipated, according to The New York Times. Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, recommended earlier this year that higher education take only a 3.5-percent budget cut, and he has suggested that the latest infusion of tax dollars be doled out in aid to towns and state parks — areas that were slated for more-severe cuts under his budget proposal.

The news of state spending on higher education was not uniformly upbeat, however. The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees today approved $47-million in budget cuts that will reduce enrollment by 1,000 students a year for four years and cut more than 400 staff and faculty members, reported the Associated Press. The Florida Legislature cut higher-education funds by 6 percent this month. —Eric Kelderman