by Charles Gazaway, Digital Content Producer – 

Attorney General Andy Beshear (Source: Michael Williams, WAVE 3 News)

Attorney General Andy Beshear (Source: Michael Williams, WAVE 3 News)

Gov. Matt Bevin (Source: WAVE 3 News)

Gov. Matt Bevin (Source: WAVE 3 News)

FRANKFORT, KY (WAVE) – The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Governor Matt Bevin over the cuts he made to the budgets of state colleges and universities.

Attorney General Andy Beshear previously said the cutting the funding of state universities by 4.5 percent was against the law and that Bevin had acted “outside his authority.”

According to Beshear’s office the lawsuit, which was filed today, outlines how the March 31 letter by Bevin that made unilateral cuts to Kentucky’s postsecondary institutions is illegal and violated Kentucky’s constitutional provision of the separation of powers. The Attorney General’s Office also says it violated the governor’s constitutional duty to “faithfully execute” the law.

Beshear said he is requesting an expedited review by Franklin Circuit Court for a permanent injunction that would force Bevin to release to each university the withheld appropriations.

“Under his view, a budget is merely a suggestion and the legislature is merely an advisory body,” Beshear said. “The governor is claiming he can defund areas like the SEEK funds, the Kentucky State Police or the entire Kentucky Unified Prosecutorial System at any time for any reason.”

In an effort to avoid the lawsuit, Beshear had called on Bevin to rescind his order and gave him seven days to reconsider. That period ended on April 8.

Jessica Ditto, communications director for Gov. Bevin, issued the following statement in response to the lawsuit:

“As best we can make sense of his rambling press conference, we strongly disagree with the Attorney General and will respond as necessary in court,” 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.”