by , @TomLoftus_CJ –

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Gov. Matt Bevin exceeded his authority last spring in unilaterally ordering funding cuts to state universities.

“The Governor’s reduction of the allotments of the universities in this case exceeded his statutory authority to revise allotments…” wrote Justice Mary C. Noble in a 50-page opinion.

“Whatever authority he (the governor) might otherwise have to require a budget unit not to spend appropriated funds does not extend to Universities, which the legislature has made independent bodies politic with control over their own expenditures,” Noble wrote.

Kentucky’s high court ruling reversed an earlier ruling of Franklin Circuit Court Judge Thomas Wingate.

Four justices concurred in Noble’s opinion. Justices Daniel J. Venters and Samuel T. Wright III dissented.

At issue in the case is Bevin’s directive that state funding to universities and community colleges be cut by 4.5 percent during the 2015-16 fiscal year. Bevin later agreed to reduce the cuts to 2 percent, and Kentucky State University – the state’s smallest university – was exempted from the cuts. The 2 percent funding cuts amount to about $18 million – money that has been held in a separate account pending a ruling by the Kentucky Supreme court.

Attorney General Andy Beshear filed the suit, claiming that Bevin had exceeded his authority. And three Democratic state representatives from Louisville – Mary Lou Marzian, Darryl Owens and Jim Wayne – joined the case on Beshear’s side.

The ruling is the first final decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court in any of the lawsuits brought by Attorney General Andy Beshear and others challenging the legality of various Bevin executive orders through the spring and summer.

This story will be updated.