In an executive order last month, Kentucky’s Republican governor, Matthew G. Bevin, said state funding for all state colleges and universities would immediately be cut by 4.5 percent, according to The Courier-Journal, a newspaper in Louisville.
At the time, the state’s Democratic attorney general, Andy Beshear, said that the order was “unconstitutional and illegal,” and that it exceeded Mr. Bevin’s gubernatorial authority. Mr. Beshear said the governor had one week to rescind the order or face a lawsuit, the newspaper reported. On Monday, Mr. Beshear made good on that promise, filing a lawsuit against the recently elected governor, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, Mr. Beshear said at a news conference on Monday, “I do not take any joy or satisfaction out of this action. Over the last seven days, it was my hope that the governor would listen to reason, comply with the law, and rescind his order. He did not.”
In addition to the immediate cuts, Mr. Bevin has proposed a $650-million cut in state funding over the next two years in hopes of reducing state debt, according to the AP.
The governor has also said state funds should be allocated according to student outcomes. He previously said the state should pay more for majors in science and technology than in the liberal arts.
