By Jason Stein
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Madison— The Legislature’s budget committee Thursday approved paying for $26 million in cost overruns for the last budget in the areas of transportation and corrections.
The Department of Transportation came up $15.9 million short for the fiscal year that ended June 30 and sought additional funds from the budget committee to cover that. The Department of Corrections was $11.1 million over budget, though that amount didn’t affect taxpayers because the agency had money elsewhere in its accounts that it could use to cover the cost overrun.
Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) pointed to an analysis by the Legislature’s budget office stating the some of the transportation funding was needed to cover basic safety measures such as replacing bolts on poles and signs and refreshing pavement markings. She said that suggested that the state needed to do more to provide long-term funding for highways.
“This is a great example, an unfortunate example, of what happens when you don’t invest in your infrastructure,” she said.
The committee voted 14-0 to approve the funding for the Department of Corrections.
It voted 10-4 to supply the DOT with additional money. It put in place a requirement that the department submit reports on its planned spending and any expected maintenance activities for which it doesn’t have adequate funding.
All Republicans backed that measure and all Democrats opposed it. Democrats wanted to find a different way to fund the measure.