WINONA, Minn. –The state Budget Office projected a $1.6 billion surplus for February, offsetting a $1.3 billion deficit in the previous quarterly report in November. The improvement was due mostly federal stimulus measures, the agency said. The change was expected to ease partisan bickering in the Legislature over a new budget. The Senate president, Jeremy Miller, R-Wioina, said: “Now that the economy is on solid ground again, we should work toward bipartisan solutions that give Minnesota businesses and workers more certainty, stability, and support.”Representative Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, assistant House minority leader, said the new data alleviate any need for tax increases.