The Supreme Court of Kentucky has ruled today that Governor Matt Bevin does not have the power to cut budgets to public colleges and universities without state legislature approval. The 5-2 ruling reverses a decision by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate, who said state school are extensions of the executive branch, with the Supreme Court concluding the schools are independent bodies with control over their own expenditures. House Speaker Greg Stumbo released a statement on the decision, saying “The court’s opinion strongly re-confirms the legislature’s spending authority as the constitution’s framers intended, and it gives our public postsecondary schools and our college students the money they should have had all along.” Attorney General Andy Beshear also made a statement saying he hopes that after today “the governor joins us for the real work that needs to be done to help Kentucky families.”