BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order Wednesday placing a hiring freeze for the state government's executive branch to save $20 million in state funds. The hiring freeze does not include local government agencies, according to the governor's office. “To ensure the long-term fiscal health of Louisiana and protect essential services for our most vulnerable citizens, we must take decisive action now to address revenue shortfalls. By implementing a temporary hiring freeze, we will reign in spending, saving an annualized $20 million. This is a necessary step to give the Legislature more options, to prevent deeper cuts to healthcare and education, and to safeguard the future of our state,” Landry said. Louisiana lawmakers must decide budget priorities Lawmakers will have to decide which items will be prioritized in this year's budget after voters rejected tax reforms-focused Amendment 2 in the March 29 election. Landry said the 2025-2026 budget was created using a standstill approach, removing one-time items and incorporating cost savings to address the projected shortfall. “This new budget will allow us to use any new revenue on non-recurring expenditures, such as continuing to lower the personal income tax rate even further OR by making investments in critical state infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water, and sewer systems,” Landry said in a Feb. 19 address. Lawmakers passed Amendment 2 during a special tax reform session in October 2024. After the amendment failed in the March election, Landry placed blame on "Soros and far-left liberals." "We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a State that is conditioned for failure. We will continue working to give our citizens more opportunities to keep more of their hard-earned money and provide a better future for Louisianians," Landry said in an election night statement. Louisiana's legislative session is scheduled to start on April 14. LSU president announces hiring freeze amid federal funding uncertainty Latest News Tesla sales plunge to lowest level since 2022 amid Trump backlash SEE IT: NASA astronaut Sunita Williams reunites with dogs after 9-month stay in space Bill could bring deductions on tips for some workers in Louisiana Naval Academy removes hundreds of library books in DEI purge Musk could be headed for a Washington exit after turbulent times at DOGE ...read more read less