Top lawyer in Kentucky sues the governor after the latter slashed down the college education funds without the approval of the state legislature.
Kentucky's Attorney General Andy Beshear, filed a lawsuit against Governor Matt Bevin because of the governor's violation of state laws after imposing a 4.5 percent cut or $41 million cut from the funds for colleges and universities in the last three months of the fiscal year. "As attorney general, it is my job to make sure that no public official acts outside of his or her authority, regardless of position and regardless of party," Beshear said in a statement on Monday, according to The Washington Post.
Beshear said that the governor abused his authority when he proceeded in cutting the education fund despite the lack of approval from the state legislature, saying that Bevin's action is "unconstitutional and illegal order."
Governor Bevin proposed a cut in budget amounting up to $650 million for the next two years so that the state can pay the public pension debt of over $30 billion. The legislators of the state rejected Bevin's proposal but he still did it. Beshear gave that governor seven days to stop it but the governor stood firm on his decision.
According to Big Story, the top lawyer just followed on his threat to governor regarding this action. "I do not take joy or satisfaction out of this action," Beshear told in a statement at a news conference. "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."
Bevin's party disagreed on Beshear's statements. "We strongly disagree," Jessica Ditto said and that they will just respond to the court accordingly. Ditto is the spokeswoman of Bevin.
This is not the first clash between Beshear and Bevin. Beshear is a Democrat while Bevin is a Republican.
Bevin is the second Republican electeded as a governor after he took over the position of Steve Beshear, Attorney Andy's father. The older Beshear was stopped from seeking reelection because of term limits.
Before Bevin became a governor, he referred to Steve Beshear's move of appointing his wife to a board seat as "embarrassment," while Beshear created a campaign that criticized Bevin's health programs.
In a statement from Reuters, Ditto said "Given the amount of alleged corruption and personnel problems in the Office of Attorney General and his father's administration, it is clear that he is attempting to deflect attention away from his own challenges."
But Beshear clarified that he is not sueing Bevin because of clashes between parties. "This is not political," the top lawyer said. "It's not Democrats versus Republicans. It's not about the upcoming or future elections. It's not Bevin versus Beshear. It's not even about pensions versus higher education. It's about the law and my duty as attorney general to enforce it. And it's not personal. No governor has the power to do what his governor has done."
