Federal hiring plan on ice as Moore administration pulls budget request

State budget bureaucrats say a plan to hire displaced federal workers is now on hold and are rescinding a budget request for staff to assist Gov Wes Moore D earlier this year revealed a plan to cherry-pick from a pool of federal workers who were laid off or took buyouts Since then the governor declared a state hiring freeze His administration also offered buyouts in an effort to reduce the number of state employees Raquel Coombs a spokesperson for the Department of Budget and Management stated more than applications were reviewed as part of a first wave of the Displaced Federal Workers Hiring Initiative In June the Department of Budget and Management urged the legislature to approve to aid in the hiring of those federal workers That was before Moore disclosed the hiring freeze House and Senate Republicans criticized the request earlier this week Since the hiring freeze has been broadcasted DBM is pulling back the budget request and is on hold with additional waves of the expedited hiring activity as we assess means to target these efforts to those critical state jobs that remain open for recruitment Coombs declared in a comment provided to Maryland Matters Last month Moore disclosed a plan to cut million in general fund spending The cuts are required as part of a compromise spending plan crafted by the General Assembly As part of that effort eligible full-time employees in the executive branch can apply for the buyout plan The terms include a flat payment plus an additional for each year of operation It will also cover six months of paid state fitness benefits and pay out unused leave and compensatory time There is no target for the number of employees the state is hoping will take the buyout Not all employees are eligible There are nearly positions within the state personnel and Maryland Department of Transportation personnel systems About were vacant as of May Another are in job classifications that are exempt from the buyout offer Senate Minority Leader Sen Stephen S Hershey Jr R-Upper Shore in a text message applauded the withdrawal of the request adding once again the Moore administration appreciates Republican ideas This reversal is a small win for accountability transparency and fiscal common sense Hershey continued While Maryland faces a budget emergency and working-class families are tightening their belts we must ensure cabinet spending reflects our priorities Moore revealed the plan this year in response to an effort by President Donald Trump to cut the size of federal cabinet That effort a campaign promise includes cutting department spending aid to state governments eliminating departments and reducing the federal workforce through layoffs and buyouts Coombs in the comment announced the goal was mitigate the economic impact to Maryland and Marylanders from federal employees losing employment and to help attract critical skills needed in State leadership Moore has made filling thousands of vacancies across state regime a cornerstone of his rebuilding state regime effort The legislature set aside million to aid in the effort to recruit particular federal workers Moore called on local governments and the private sector to consider similar efforts Source