MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats are questioning why Gov. Scott Walker thinks the state will need hundreds fewer contract prison beds than the Department of Corrections estimates. DOC requested $8.6 million to cover 1,239 beds in the state budget’s first year and $31.4 million to cover 2,447 in the second. Walker’s budget provides $17.3 million to cover 1,109 beds in the first year and 977 in the second. A Legislative Fiscal Bureau summary says plans to house more adult offenders in Racine and expand the earned release program accounts for some of the lower estimates. That still leaves Walker 1,208 beds short of DOC projections. Rep. Evan Goyke, a Milwaukee Democrat, says Walker is ignoring the projections to avoid debate over building a new prison.
