FRANKFORT — Kentucky’s Republican governor signed an order Friday to close a $152 million hole in the state’s budget through a mix of spending cuts and raiding various restricted funds devoted to public education, environmental protection and health care.
When the fiscal year ended June 30, state officials were $138.5 million short. A few other things, including a budget veto that would not let $5 million of lottery scholarship money lapse back into the general fund, pushed the shortfall to $152.2 million. Kentucky’s constitution requires the state to have a balanced budget, thus requiring Gov. Matt Bevin to take action.
Bevin’s order relies on $55 million of spending cuts across various state agencies. It also sweeps more than $77 million from various restricted funds, including $36 million from the Health and Family Services cabinet, $17 million from the Energy and Environment cabinet and just over $491,000 from the state Department of Education.