Kentucky’s highest court says the state’s Republican governor cannot cut the budgets of public colleges and universities without the approval of the state legislature.
The 5-2 ruling by the state Supreme Court reverses a lower court ruling that said Gov. Matt Bevin had the authority to order public colleges and universities not to spend all of the money the state legislature gave them.
Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear appealed, arguing Bevin’s order was illegal. A majority of the court agreed on Thursday, saying Bevin does not have that authority.
In a statementThursday, Beshear applauded the ruling and called on Bevin to release the funds back to the universities.
“Today, the Supreme Court enforced Kentucky law, reminding us that ‘the governor, like everyone, is bound by the law,'” Beshear said. “Based on today’s ruling, I am calling on Gov. Bevin to immediately release the $18 million he wrongfully withheld from our public colleges and universities. As the court stated, it is my job as Attorney General ‘to vindicate the public rights of the people of the Commonwealth,’ and I will continue to do so.”
The ruling is a victory for Beshear, who has sued Bevin three times so far questioning the extent of the governor’s power. Just last month, Bevin boasted on a Louisville radio show that Beshear “will lose every one of these cases.”
