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Executive committee debates proposed hiring freeze for legislative service agencies; no action taken
Summary
Committee discussed a draft memorandum mirroring the governor’s hiring freeze to pause job postings through Dec. 31 with exemptions for essential positions; members raised staffing concerns for attorneys, editors and IT roles and staff said posted positions before the freeze would still be eligible to be filled.
The Executive Committee considered a draft memorandum that would direct legislative service agencies to cease posting job opportunities immediately through Dec. 31, mirroring the governor’s hiring freeze language, but with exemptions for positions deemed essential to operations.
The chair said the memorandum is intended as an administrative measure for the legislative branch in light of an estimated $1.2 billion budget shortfall tied in committee discussion to House Resolution 1. Ed Dacheco clarified that while the governor’s executive order was applied prospectively, the draft before the committee would apply immediately and run through the end of the calendar year; he emphasized the draft includes exceptions allowing agency directors to fill positions they determine are essential for the General Assembly to function.
Natalie Castle listed current Legislative Council openings (an application support analyst, a cybersecurity/network security engineer, an audio-visual technician, a developer and a contract visitor-services position) and said some roles (cybersecurity and AV, for example) would be considered essential. Director DeCicco said Office of Legislative Legal Services has 11 openings (three legislative editors and seven attorneys) that were posted prior to the governor’s hiring freeze and therefore remain eligible to be filled under the current understanding.
Several members, including Senator Simpson, expressed concern that a hiring freeze could impede recruitment and training of attorneys and editors needed to draft legislation and support session operations. DeCicco and Castle said they expected many already-posted positions would be filled and that agency directors can use the essential-role exception where necessary.
The committee did not take formal action on the hiring-freeze memorandum and directed staff to continue discussions; members will revisit the issue at the November meeting.
