Governor Matt Mead said he is hopeful they will be able to trim the budget without layoffs. In light of extremely low natural gas prices, the Governor asked state agencies to prepare for 8 percent budget cuts in fiscal year 2014. Mead also asked agencies to cap all new hires.

During a news conference Wednesday, the Governor said he doesn't want agencies in their 8 percent cuts to say "hey we are going to fire ten people and that's how we are going to take care of it."  Mead said he wants the agencies to "look first at their programs and the services they provide and look for the cuts there, before we go into personnel."

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