The Arizona Department of Public Safety had its headcount cap raised by 319 full-time employees on Friday, the governor’s office confirmed on Monday.
Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office instituted a headcount cap on state agencies last week and is having the entities do a “budgetary savings exercise” to figure out how to navigate the state’s projected deficit of $1.3 billion, according to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The Center Square reported that the goal is to figure out $1.2 billion in savings.
The Arizona State Troopers Association hinted they were granted leeway in a post on Saturday.
“DPS was granted an exemption from the hiring freeze. We will still be able to hire new employees. We thank Governor Hobbs and her staff for working with DPS to grant this exemption,” the association tweeted. “This commitment to public safety is very much needed during these tough times.”
However, the governor’s office said that this is not necessarily a freeze.
“It’s a cap on number of FTEs in an agency, not a hiring freeze,” a spokesman for Hobbs said in a message.
The office said that the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry also received a headcount cap increase.
Rep. David Cook, R-Globe, wrote a letter to Hobbs on Friday requesting that DPS and the Department of Child Safety be granted leniency in the move.
