Marquette University Student Government approved legislation to distribute an unexpected $18,000 budget surplus during its first spring semester meeting Thursday night.

MUSG decided to give $12,000 for Student Organization Allocations. The remaining $6,000 was given to the MUSG Program Committee for its various projects.

The extra $18,000 comes from additional Student Activity Fee funds. The Budget Committee underestimated the number of incoming freshmen last year, resulting in more funds than had been expected.

The legislation, which passed with a 24-1 vote, resolves an issue from last semester, when MUSG was unable to decide how to allocate the funds due to low attendance. A two-thirds vote — 20 of the 30 MUSG voting members — is needed to approve budgetary legislation, and the item previously failed 19-1 at the Nov. 13 meeting.

The original proposal had an additional $1,000 given to the Program Committee to fund excursions, such as a trip to the Dave & Buster's restaurant in Chicago.

An amendment was approved that moved that excursion money to SOA.

Where students would receive the most benefit from the money was a source of much debate.

"The money that comes in here is the students' money," said Senator Joseph Schuster, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. "Giving it to the SOA allows them to see what this money is doing."

However, Senator Kevin Mulligan, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, said the money would be more accessible to students if used for excursions rather than for the SOA, which has a much more specific scope for who it benefits.