Kaine And GOP At Odds on Shortfall

Last year's plan also mandates that two-thirds of any surplus in the general fund be spent on transportation. No surplus exists this year, but House Republicans said Kaine's forecast should have included millions of dollars in future surplus estimates.

Homer said the state could not do that. "By law, we have to have adequate money to enter into highway and rail construction contracts," he said. "We can't substitute good intentions for the ability to pay."

House Republicans said Kaine's forecast should have taken into account historical trends, anticipated growth and the usual ebb and flow of the economy.

House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) said the administration used the "slowest rate of growth for the next 10 years" to calculate its forecast.

"It's based on numbers that project we're going to have a flat economy for the next decade," he said. "I don't believe that's true for Virginia. I certainly hope not."

In 2003, the General Assembly passed a bill that changed the way the state calculates forecasts in response to the exaggerated estimates of revenue by the Virginia Department of Transportation. The finance secretary, who works for the governor, now calculates the forecasts for all state government with advice from state and national economists and legislative leaders.

Even some Senate Republicans do not dispute the method or the extent of the problem.

"There is a lot of room for debate on how to fix transportation, but I think there is very little room for debate on how big the transportation problem is," said Sen. Kenneth W. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach).

Staff writers Jennifer Buske in Woodbridge and Tim Craig in Richmond contributed to this report.