State Civil Service Commission denies governor's bid to make many attorney and engineering jobs unclassified

The State Civil Service Commission on Feb. 5 denied a governor's request to grant broad unclassified authority to dozens of attorney and engineer job titles, rejecting the proposal on a 4-2 roll-call vote.

Emily Andrews, special counsel to the governor, told the commission the change was intended to improve recruitment and retention for professionally licensed roles and to reduce costly outside contracting. "By keeping that historical knowledge in our agencies, we think it's going to allow us to increase government efficiency," Andrews said in presenting the proposal, which covered attorney series (Attorney 1–4, deputy general counsel levels and related titles) and multiple engineer levels including DOTD chief and deputy chief engineers, with a proposed effective date of July 1, 2025.

Commissioner Plaisance, reading written submissions from classified state employees, warned the change would expose technical decisions to partisan influence. "Removing these positions from the classified service would result in the vast majority of the state's legal and engineering public sectors being subject to partisan political coercion and in some cases, outright conflicts of interest," she read. She and others raised public-safety concerns tied to engineering decisions and cited licensing statutes that aim to protect life, health and property.

Andrews and Division of Administration staff responded that the proposal was prospective only and that current classified employees would remain classified; they pointed to legal safeguards, including whistleblower protections cited during the presentation, and noted other Louisiana offices with longstanding unclassified attorneys had not shown the harms described.

The commission's most sustained objections came from a long statement by a commissioner who said the constitution's Article 10 and the commission's rules emphasize adding or revoking specific "positions," not broad classifications, and warned of budget and morale effects. "I don't think we have a good decision here today," the commissioner said before announcing a planned no vote.

Following procedural confusion during floor motions, the commission voted and the request failed, with commissioners saying the issue warrants further study or a legislative or public vote rather than a sweeping, governor-initiated reclassification. The chair announced the request was denied 4-2.

What happens next: the commission did not adopt the governor's request; proponents said they may return with revised, narrower petitions or pursue statutory or legislative routes. The governor's office had argued the change would help the state compete for licensed professionals and reduce reliance on outside contractors, while opponents said the risks to institutional stability, cost and impartial technical decision-making outweigh the benefits.