Gov. Bobby Jindal has started the new fiscal year by ordering a partial hiring freeze that will require most state agencies to get approval from Jindal’s budget chief before adding new workers. The executive order announced today covers the fiscal year that began Friday and ends June 30, 2012. The $25.3 billion operating budget already cut 3,500 positions, including more than 1,000 planned layoffs. The order would target any agency jobs that remain unfilled or that become vacant when someone leaves. The partial hiring freeze is a move that’s similar to what Jindal has done in prior fiscal years, trying to control state government costs. The goal listed in the executive order is to save $17 million. Most state government offices seeking to fill vacant jobs will need approval from Jindal’s top budget officer, Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater.
The state’s elected officials and the Louisiana Legislature aren’t covered by the governor’s order. Patient care and public safety jobs, like state troopers, prison guards and public hospital workers, also are exempt. Since the governor took office in 2008, nearly 9,900 jobs have been cut across state government, including the planned eliminations this year. Nearly 1,300 people have been laid off so far, according to the state civil service department, not including the more than 1,000 layoffs expected this year.
