Most of the state's unexpected $404 million surplus has already been spoken for, according to Gov. Bob McDonnell.
In an address to state lawmakers Thursday, McDonnell said a lot of the surplus will go toward covering a pay bonus to 117,000 state workers, the Water Quality Improvement Fund and transportation. Those obligations will account for $150 million.
McDonnell said he would like to reserve as much of the remaining balance for transportation efforts and to repay millions of dollars the General Assembly took from the state's retirement system to prop up the current state budget.
The surplus for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was far larger than the $220 million McDonnell originally projected. Of that, $174 million came from state agency savings.
Delegate David Englin, a Democrat from Alexandria, told WAMU 88.5 he's glad the governor intends to spend the money on unmet budget needs, but he and other Democrats say the governor can't call it a surplus after the general assembly just cut an additional $4 billion in state services.
