Jerry Brown announces state hiring freeze

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Gov. Jerry Brown announced a state hiring freeze Tuesday as part of his plan to cut more than $360 million in government costs.

Agencies could receive exemptions from the freeze if they are able to meet their savings goals in other ways, but “the hiring freeze will be in effect until agencies and departments prove that they can achieve these savings,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday.

Past governors have tried to curtail state hiring with limited success. Gov. Gray Davis first announced a state hiring freeze in 2001, but exempted the governor’s office, Legislature, judiciary and agencies that deal with health and safety. State employment rolls grew by more than 6,500 in the six months after Davis’ freeze was enacted.

Brown also left room for exemptions in his executive order Tuesday. But his spokeswoman said any new state hires would have to be approved directly by the governor’s office.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento