Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has signed an order to plug a $91 million hole in Kentucky's $9.5 billion state budget.
State officials announced the shortfall last week following sluggish collections on state income taxes. Beshear's order Wednesday cuts just $3 million in state spending. Beshear made up the rest by transferring money from other sources, including $21.2 million from the state's reserves.
State officials said they had few options to make up the deficit because the shortfall came at the end of the fiscal year when most of the money had already been spent.
Beshear's order also dealt with a $22.1 million shortfall in the state's road fund, with just $300,000 in cuts to construction projects.
This was the 14th budget reduction Beshear has implemented since taking office in 2007.
