Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry instates hiring freeze for state agencies

(KSLA) — Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry froze hiring across all state government departments and agencies Wednesday (April 2).

Executive orders are gubernatorial mandates issued to implement procedural aspects of state government.

So who does Gov. Landry’s executive order affect?

“… It’s not supposed to affect local government, just state agencies,” political analyst Royal Alexander said.

There are 36 state agencies in Louisiana, including the Education Department and the Department of Transportation & Development, just to name a couple.

“What he’s doing is saying ‘We’re gonna leave things where they are right now; we’re just freezing it.’ And he thinks that we’ll probably save up to $20 million, which will make it possible for the state not to have to cut healthcare or education,” Alexander said.

Some politicians disagree.

The “hiring freeze is unnecessary,” District 4 state Rep. Joy Walters said. “The freeze is nothing but the governor’s pride. Let’s be real, to have amendments that fail and more than 60% around the state. This is retaliation for that.”

The timeline of the hiring freeze is unknown.

Gov. Landry said the freeze is to save $20 million to safeguard the future of our state and to prevent cuts to healthcare and education.

“Yes, it’s a scare tactic,” Walters said. “I don’t want to have to cut healthcare or public education.”

April 14 marks the start of the next legislative session. We should learn more then.

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