Video: BREAKING- Governor Order Budget Cuts To Most State Agencies

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is making 1.5 percent budget cuts for many state agencies because tax collections are falling short of expectations.

Several big-ticket programs are exempt from the cuts that Bryant announced Wednesday. The exempt list includes the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, Medicaid, university students’ financial aid and the entire Department of Public Safety. Spending for the Legislature is also exempt because the law says the governor can’t cut it.

This is the first time Republican Bryant has had to make midyear budget cuts since he took office in January 2012.

His predecessor, Republican Haley Barbour, had to make substantial cuts when revenues dropped off during the Great Recession.