CL - Barbour to abide by MSSC ruling over budget cuts

Barbour said Thursday that he disagrees with a Supreme Court order declaring his cuts to the judiciary unconstitutional but will abide by it anyway.

"That's not the way I read the statute, but there's no use in appealing it to the Supreme Court, would be my view," Barbour told The Clarion-Ledger editorial board during an hour-long conversation.

In total, Barbour will have cut the budget by $458 million, and round four may not be the end of it. Barbour said he would revisit the numbers again at the end of February, and that he hopes to make the last cuts then, if more are necessary.

"I believe we owe it to the public that we don't end up having to make some huge slash in April, May or June," Barbour said.

Clarion-Ledger
2/5/10