The budget bill now under House consideration in the Northern Marianas is calling for a 50-percent reduction of vacant full-time positions in government.
The bill requires that currently vacant full-time employee positions be left unfilled and reduced by one half.
This means that the government will have authority during fiscal year 2008 to fill half of the existing job vacancies in the government.
Each hiring requires approval of the Legislature by joint resolution.
The remaining 50 percent will be eliminated and the government's full-time equivalent or FTE, a way to measure a worker's involvement in a project, cap will be reduced.
The proposed appropriation act sets a cap of over 4,000 FTEs in government-wide, including the self-funding Department of Public Lands.
The administration has identified 267 vacant positions that it wants filled.
The vacancies include positions for police officers, firemen, correction officers, attorneys, and investigators.
