The Legislature bailed out the company with $715 million from the state surplus.

The cost of repairing bridges, he added, "should be coming out of the state surplus."

The longer he fights for lower spending, the larger the state surplus will be.

Shore officials argue that a state surplus is an unreliable source of annual revenue.

He requires legislative approval for other cuts, like the spending of the state surplus.

From the left, many criticize Bush for using virtually all of the state surplus for a tax cut.

Lowe noted a $40 million state surplus and urged repeal of the taxes.

Even last year, with a state surplus like this year's, he proposed more cuts and tuition increases, but the Legislature refused.

The state surplus this year will not even pay for one year's deferred maintenance on the state highway system.

The last fiscal year produced a record state surplus of $1.2 billion.