By executive order, Bevin required all state agencies to reduce spending in their current budgets by 4.5 percent. House Speaker Greg Stumbo argued that Bevin did not have the authority to order such reductions without legislative approval, but Senate President Robert Stivers defended Bevin's action, saying it amounted to simply not spending money that was previously allocated. Bevin later compromised with the state's public college and university presidents to reduce the cuts to 2 percent, but Attorney General Andy Beshear sued to stop the cuts entirely. In May 2016, a Franklin Circuit Court judge ruled Bevin did have the authority to make the cuts. In September 2016, the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a 5–2 decision reversing the Franklin Circuit Court's ruling and agreeing with Beshear that Bevin lacked the authority to make mid-year budget cuts without the approval of the General Assembly.
