Murkowski also issued an order appointing Attorney General Gregg Renkes to succeed Loren Leman as lieutenant governor if that office becomes vacant, putting Renkes in the governor's seat if anything happens to Murkowski and Leman.

John Manly, spokesman for the Murkowski transition team, said the orders were issued to help the incoming administration get a handle on operating the state.

"We're not trying to save money by the freeze," Manly said today. "The main purpose is to get our arms around this thing."

Manly said exemptions to the orders would be determined by Murkowski Chief of Staff Jim Clark.

Sharon Barton, the state director of personnel who is serving as acting Department of Administration commissioner during the transition, said the hiring freeze affects only those state employees who fall under exempt or partially exempt status.

Those categories include executive-level employees such as commissioners, division directors and governor's office staffers.

Positions categorized as classified service - the majority of state jobs - will not be affected by the order, Barton said. Of approximately 14,599 state employees, only 1,182 - about 8 percent - fall outside of the classified service category.

"This is not an unexpected order," Barton said. "It is in line with what most administrations do to get a handle on those positions."

Jim Duncan, Administration Department commissioner during the final two years of the Knowles administration, said the decision to freeze only exempt and partially exempt hires allows state government to continue functioning.

"It's good they did not try to put a freeze on classified hiring," he said. "You may have a biologist in Fish and Game or a medical person in the Department of Health and Social Services who retires. It's important to fill those positions that are essential to supporting government."

Across-the-board hiring freezes have been used by the two previous administrations and Duncan said they didn't significantly reduce state spending.

Signing orders: Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski sits in his new office Monday for the first time to sign executive orders. MICHAEL PENN/THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

"What we found as we moved forward was there were positions that we just had to fill," Duncan said.

Barton had no details this morning on the freeze on out-of-state travel.

Out-of-state travel frequently involves attending national conferences or training sessions, said Duncan. He didn't expect a large impact, since a small percentage of staff travel is outside the state.

In addition to the hiring and traveling freeze, the Murkowski administration ordered state departments to perform internal performance audits. The audits will be coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget.

The audits will include review of the department's objectives, effectiveness and compliance with existing statutes.

"Gov. Murkowski said many times on the campaign trail that he would do a top-down audit to see if the departments are doing what their mission directs them to do," Manly said.

Manly said no timeline has been set for completion of the audits.

One of Murkowski's orders called for a freeze on awarding personal service contracts. The state doesn't use such contracts because Internal Revenue Service rules say anyone hired to conduct personal services must be an employee, said Chris Parce, director of the Department of Administration's Division of General Services.

However, the division got word late this morning that the intent of the order was a two-month freeze on professional service contracts. Parce said she didn't have details of how the order would work.

Professional service contracts cover a wide variety of work, including highway design, medical services, writing and legal representation.

Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothyi@juneauempire.com.Ed Schoenfeld can be reached at eschoenfeld@juneauempire.com.