MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee voted on several parts of Gov. Scott Walker’s two-year spending plan on Wednesday. Those include:
- CAMPING AND PARK FEES: The Department of Natural Resources to raise daily state park admission and camping fees according to parks’ popularity. Annual vehicle park entry fees, which are $28 for Wisconsin residents, would not increase. Camping fees, which range from $15 to $20 a night, could increase up to $10 a night. How much the increases would be and for what parks would be worked out later by the DNR. The committee also voted to allow the maximum number of camping sites with electrical outlets at any given park to increase from 30 percent to 35 percent. And it would require that overnight fees for electrical sites at five popular parks go up from $10 to $15. Those parks are Devils’ Lake, High Cliff, Kohler-Andrae, Peninsula and Willow River.
- OUTDOORS MAGAZINE: The popular Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine published by the state DNR would continue, but with just four issues a year rather than six. The magazine features stories and photos highlighting Wisconsin’s hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities, like hiking and camping. Supporters said it is a valuable tool and since it’s funded by subscriptions, ending publication won’t save any money. Walker argued the state should not be in the publishing business and the department can use online social media to spread its message. Democrats said that ending the magazine was an effort to silence articles about controversial topics like climate change.
- PROPERTY TAX: A state property tax for forestry will be eliminated as Walker wanted, committee co-chair Sen. Alberta Darling said. The budget committee was originally scheduled to vote on it Wednesday but Darling said it will be taken up later. The tax is used to help preserve and protect Wisconsin forests and costs the owner of a median-valued home about $27 a year. The governor called for replacing the roughly $180 million raised over two years with money from the state’s main account. Opponents say that puts funding for Wisconsin’s forests in jeopardy because it would have to compete with money for all other parts of state government including education, medical assistance and prisons.
- PAROLE COMMISSION: The Parole Commission would not be eliminated as Walker proposed, but instead continue with half as many commissioners to make decisions on releasing prison inmates. Four of the eight commission positions are currently vacant and two of them have been vacant since June 2013. There are 3,044 inmates currently serving a prison sentence who were convicted of a crime that is eligible for parole. Only crimes committed before 2000 are parole-eligible because of Wisconsin’s truth-in-sentencing law. Democrats argued for a fully staffed commission to make inmate release decisions.
- JUDICIAL SALARIES: Salaries for Wisconsin’s judges would increase 4 percent over two years, in line with what Walker recommended and the same as what state employees would receive. Wisconsin’s judicial salaries are the 43th lowest nationwide, according to the National Center for State Courts. Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack asked for a 16 percent increase over two years.
- DISTRICT ATTORNEY, PUBLIC DEFENDER PAY: District attorneys and public defenders, who have complained about the ability to recruit and retain attorneys based on their current salaries, would see pay increases. The money provided would allow district attorneys to increase salaries nearly $2 an hour, or $4,100 a year, while public defenders would get a 1.83 percent increase in each of the next two years. Walker had called for a 2 percent annual increase for them.
- DEAD DEER: Removing deer carcasses hit by vehicles would now be the responsibility of the state Department of Transportation, rather than the Department of Natural Resources, under a change made by the committee. Under Walker’s budget deer removal would have been up to whoever is responsible for maintaining the road. Under the change, the DOT would have to pay out of existing funds for contracting with private vendors or counties and municipalities. Democrats said they worried that DOT would not make removing a deer a priority.
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