MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Latest on the Legislature’s finance committee’s state budget deliberations (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
A key Republican leader on the Legislature’s finance committee says Gov. Tony Evers’ plan to add new barracks at two Wisconsin prisons isn’t dead.
Evers’ state budget calls for borrowing $15 million to build three new 144-bed barracks at Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls and one at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac to help alleviate overcrowding.
The finance committee is revising the budget before passing it on to the full Legislature. Republicans who control the panel removed the barracks proposals from the spending plan.
Rep. John Nygren, one of the committee’s co-chairs, tells reporters that the committee may take up the barracks as part of the state’s capital budget.
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1:15 p.m.
Republicans on the Legislature’s finance committee have scrapped Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal to add new barracks at two Wisconsin prisons.
Evers’ budget calls for borrowing $15 million to build three new 144-bed barracks, with two barracks at Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls and one at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac. The proposal comes as the state prison system continues to grapple with overcrowding.
The finance committee is revising Evers’ budget before forwarding it on to the full Legislature. Republicans who control the panel shelved Evers’ proposals for adult prisons on Tuesday and introduced their own omnibus motion. The proposal ratchets down prisoner population estimates, reduces the amount of money Evers set aside for prison worker overtime by about $7.3 million pending the outcome of staff retention and recruitment incentives and funds new health units at three prisons. The motion did not include the barracks.
The committee approved the motion 11-4, with all four Democrats on the committee voting against it.
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12:55 p.m.
The Legislature’s budget-writing committee has signed off on raises for prison workers in hopes of retaining and recruiting more guards.
Gov. Tony Evers’ budget earmarked about $23.7 million for prison worker raises. His plan coupled with a 2% across-the-board raise for all state workers in each of the next two years would increase guards’ starting wage from $16.65 to $18.22.
Republicans on the budget committee introduced their own plan Tuesday that calls for spending nearly $37 million on prison raises. Their proposal would move the starting wage to $19, raise upper-level salaries accordingly and provide lump-sum bonuses for longevity. The committee approved the plan 11-4.
The vote inserts the plan into the budget. The committee will spend at least several more weeks revising the budget before sending it on to the full Legislature for approval.
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11:50 a.m.
The Legislature’s finance committee has approved provisions in Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget that would give all state workers a 2% raise in each of the next two fiscal years.
The committee approved the plan 11-4 on Tuesday.
According to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, state employees’ wages increased 6.1% from fiscal year 2010-11 to 2018-19. Inflation rose 16.4% over the same period. Non-retirement separations from state employment jumped from just over 6.1% in 2011-12 to nearly 10% in 2017-18.
The vote sets money aside for the raises in the budget. The Joint Committee on Employment Relations would have to authorize implementation.
The four Democrats on the committee voted against the provisions after Republicans reduced Evers’ allocation for bringing some employees’ salaries up to market levels by $8 million and eliminated his proposal to set the minimum starting wage for all non-University of Wisconsin executive branch employees to $15 an hour.
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10:15 a.m.
Republicans who control the Legislature’s finance committee are planning to give prison workers bigger raises than Gov. Tony Evers is calling for in his state budget.
Evers’ budget earmarks about $23.7 million for prison worker raises. His plan coupled with a 2% annual across-the-board raise for all state workers would move the starting wage for guards from $16.65 to $18.22.
The finance committee is scheduled to review the proposal Tuesday. The committee’s Republican members told reporters before the committee convened that they plan to devote $35 million to prison raises, moving the starting wage to $19, raising upper-level salaries providing lump-sum bonuses for longevity.
A state audit released earlier this month shows the prison system continues to struggle with high overtime payouts due largely to an inability to fill vacancies.
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9:55 a.m.
Republicans on the Legislature’s finance committee say they’ll support Gov. Tony Evers’ plan to give state workers across-the-board raises over the next two years.
Evers’ state budget calls for giving state workers a 2% raise in fiscal year 2019-20 and a 2% raise in fiscal year 2020-21.
The Republican-controlled finance committee is set to review the proposal Tuesday. Republicans on the panel told reporters before the committee convened that the raises will make employment at state agencies more attractive in a booming economy with low unemployment.
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8:40 a.m.
Republicans who control the Legislature’s finance committee are set to consider portions of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget that would create new prison barracks and set aside millions for prison worker overtime and raises.
Evers’ budget calls for borrowing $15 million to build three new 144-bed barracks, with two barracks at Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls and one at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac. The proposal comes as the state prison system continues to grapple with overcrowding.
The budget also calls for setting aside an additional $65 million for prison worker overtime costs and $23.7 million for raises for guards.
The finance committee is set to take up the provisions Tuesday. The panel could vote to approve the proposals, modify them or remove them from the budget.
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