Kentucky's Republican governor wants to slash some spending by more than 17 percent this year to prevent a $200 million shortfall and protect the state's credit rating. Gov. Matt Bevin's state budget director sent a letter to some state agencies on Friday.
It says Budget Director John Chilton expects the state's reserve fund to run out of money when the fiscal year ends June 30, so it won't be available to help cover the shortfall. He said exhausting the reserves could hurt the state's credit rating. Chilton said the plan is to eliminate the $200 million shortfall and put $150 million in the state's savings account.
That requires cutting non-exempt general fund expenses by 17.4 percent. Bevin also asked for cuts from state constitutional officers, the legislature and the courts.
