Beshear Announces Proposed Cuts to Current Budget

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighKentucky Gov. Steve Beshear unveils his plan for reducing a huge deficit in the current state budget.This is the second time this fiscal year and the sixth time since he took office in 2007 that Gov. Beshear has been forced to cut spending. He needs to raise 108-million dollars and to get there, most state agencies will see three-percent cuts.“Initially we thought we might have to cut another six percent," says Beshear. "The revision means impacted agencies will only see cuts of three percent.”The governor is also using federal stimulus dollars and excess funds to balance the budget.In February, Beshear plans to return 30-to-40-million dollars in excess education funds to local districts. That should more than cover the three-percent cuts in education that are outside of basic school funding.