The proposed state budget could result in the loss of 100 prosecutors statewide, and could allow some convicted felons to be released from prison to finish their sentences in home incarceration, according to Chris Cohron, commonwealth’s attorney for Warren County and president of the Kentucky Prosecutors Association.

Law enforcement officials at other Kentucky agencies are still waiting to hear how the budget will impact them, but others are already planning to reduce costs any way they can.

Kentucky is facing a $900 million revenue shortfall in the next two fiscal years. The General Assembly last week approved a two-year, $19 billion state spending plan that included funding cuts to numerous government agencies and programs; that budget is pending Gov. Steve Beshear’s signature.

If the judicial system cuts are approved, prosecutors and staff in both commonwealth and county attorney offices across Kentucky will either be asked to take a big cut in pay or some will have to be laid off, Cohron said.

Warren County has not made a decision on what cuts would occur locally. There are currently 12 employees at the commonwealth attorney’s office, and they’re paid through state funds. The state pays for five part-time prosecutors and three full-time administrative staff at the Warren County Attorney’s Office. Those attorneys cover Warren district and family courts.

If the cuts go through, remaining staff will have to handle more cases with less support, Cohron said, and that would have a negative impact on morale. The lower morale in turn could lead to more prosecutors leaving to become private attorneys, he said.

Part of the budget’s language also includes giving the Kentucky Department of Corrections the ability to release any non-violent felon who was not convicted of a sex crime to a home incarceration program.

The change could cause thousands of felons to be released back into the public, Cohron said.

“At this time, there is not information on what kind of oversight will be done,” to keep track of the felons, Cohron said.

Those who re-offend could then be charged with being a persistent felony offender, he said, and would sit in jail until trial - and Kentucky counties would be responsible for housing them.

“It seems like there’s a chance a lot of responsibility (for paying to house inmates) will be pushed back to the counties,” Cohron said.

Other law enforcement agencies are also preparing for budget cuts.

For the last few years, the state has provided $1 million per year to help drug task forces overcome the federal cuts being made by the Bush administration to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant program, said Tommy Loving, director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force.

The Byrne program was the primary funding source for many drug task forces across the country. Now, the state is unlikely to continue providing the $1 million in annual funding.

“The best we can tell, the cuts will reduce that amount to $850,000 to $880,000,” Loving said.

There are bills in both the federal House and Senate that would restore the Byrne grants, Loving said.

“The funding is supposed to be included in an Iraq war spending bill that would be voted on in late April or early May,” he said.

Other law enforcement agencies are also in a wait-and-see mode when it comes to potential state cuts.

Angela Rogers, spokeswoman for Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement, said it has not been told what impact state budget cuts would have on that agency.

Gil Lawson, spokesman for the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, which oversees states parks and rangers, said it is also still studying the proposed budget to determine what kind of impact it might have.

Locally, the Kentucky State Police post has been asked to cut down on expenses as much as possible, primarily in fuel use, maintenance for its fleet and various office expenses, said Capt. Bill Payton.

“The things we’ve been asked to reduce won’t impact our primary mission,” he said.

Any decisions about position losses or not replacing retired troopers would be made by KSP command in Frankfort, he said. Meanwhile, the process of hiring additional troopers is still going forward.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.