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Beshear will not comply with Bevin's budget cut request

Beshear will not comply with Bevin's budget cut request
Posted at 7:00 PM, Sep 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-25 19:00:06-04

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Democratic attorney general says he will not comply with the Republican governor’s request for a plan to cut spending by more than 17 percent.

Gov. Matt Bevin has asked all state agencies to come up with a plan to cut their budgets by 17.4 percent this year. He said the plan would cover a projected $200 million shortfall and put $150 million into the state’s savings account.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Attorney General Andy Beshear will not comply with the request. Beshear told the newspaper Bevin’s request is illegal because state law does not allow midyear budget cuts to go beyond the projected shortfall.

RELATED: Proposed Kentucky budget cuts will 'halt' criminal justice system, prosecutor says

Beshear said he would participate in a legal budget cut. A spokeswoman for Bevin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.