Democratic lawmakers are going after the governor’s power to reduce state spending, even as Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is due to tell a court why the cuts he made last year were legal.

The Democratic heads of legislative spending committees unveil a proposal Tuesday to limit the governor’s power to cut the budget without legislative consent. It’s an executive power called unallotment.

Pawlenty used unallotment after last year’s legislative session to erase a $2.7 billion deficit.

He is appealing a lower court ruling that said he exceeded his authority when he balanced the budget on his own. State lawyers representing Pawlenty face a deadline for filing a brief to the Minnesota Supreme Court in the case.