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Bevin Calls For Spending Cuts In First Budget Proposal
By: Associated Press
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Matt Bevin’s first budget will not take effect until July 1, but Kentucky’s new Republican governor is not waiting to slash government spending.
Bevin said Tuesday he is immediately cutting 4.5 percent from the current budget enacted by his Democratic predecessor, $117 million worth of cuts he says do not require legislative approval.
The cuts continue over the next two years. For every dollar state agencies received this year, they will get 91 cents in 2017 and 2018.
But Bevin’s cuts are not across the board. He shielded spending on K-12 public education, programs for military veterans, health insurance for the poor and disabled and drug treatment programs. He wants to spend $21.7 million to give raises to state troopers, corrections officers and entry level social workers and clinicians.