BRADENTON, Fla. - Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear threatened to sue Gov. Matt Bevin over unilateral 4.5% budget cuts the governor ordered at state colleges and universities.
On Friday, Beshear gave Bevin seven days to rescind the cuts, saying they were improperly imposed by the governor on Thursday.
"The governor's unilateral action in cutting the appropriated funding of colleges, universities and community colleges was outside of his authority," said Beshear, a Democrat. "The law on budget reductions is straightforward. It requires a declared shortfall that does not exist."
With three months remaining in the current fiscal year, Bevin, a Republican, ordered colleges and universities to absorb immediate reductions in state funding, blaming the need for the cuts on the state's $35 billion in unfunded pension obligations.
"Our pension system is on the brink of insolvency," Bevin said. "Once we get our fiscal house in order, Kentucky will be in a much stronger position to make additional investments in higher education."
The actions by Bevin occurred on the same day that budget negotiations in the House and Senate broke down over the two-year spending plan for fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
The General Assembly is in recess this week.
Lawmakers are due to reconvene during the week of April 10, although by law they have only one day remaining and the regular session cannot extend beyond April 15.
If a compromise on a spending plan is not reached by the end of next week, lawmakers face the prospect of returning to work on the budget in a special session, which only the governor can call.
For the fiscal 2017-2018 biennium, Bevin's $70.4 billion proposed budget called for a reduction in baseline spending for most state agencies of 9% and cuts of 4.5% to higher education budgets.
Bevin said he wanted the cash savings to go toward shoring up the state's severely underfunded pension systems, a move supported by the Republican-dominated Senate.
The House, led by Democrats, refused to agree on a compromise budget because the Senate sought additional cuts to the higher education budget.
Bevin did not explain why he ordered college and university budget cuts to be imposed prior to the June 30 end of the current fiscal year.
Bevin's predecessor, Steve Beshear, is the attorney general's father. Term limits prevented him from seeking a third consecutive term as governor.
