House Appropriations Chairwoman Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton, said Villa briefed her about the cuts and generally thought they matched legislative intent. She described the third tier of cuts, in particular, as non-essential services.

“The library, Historical Society, promotions for tourism, agricultural marketing. Those to me are much different than funding schools or funding Medicaid," she said.

Villa said the deep cuts could have been avoided if Republicans were willing to pass revenue measures like increasing the tobacco tax and closing tax loopholes for corporations.

“It means they’ve made the decision to implement cuts,” Villa said.

Now it’s unclear how the state could see revenue growth if Republicans maintain a majority in the 2019 Legislature and again reject a budget from the governor’s office that will likely include tax increases.

“We left $300 million in the bank. We called on the Legislature to implement the best financial practices,” Villa said. “Really at this point the voters need to speak.”

Outside organizations echoed Villa in pointing a finger at the Legislature.