MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The Wisconsin Legislature’s budget-writing committee has voted to pay for hiring 35 additional assistant public defenders.
The Joint Finance Committee voted Tuesday to go along with Gov. Scott Walker’s recommendation to pay for the additional attorneys.
The move would actually save the state about $41,000 over two years because fewer private attorneys would have to be hired to represent defendants.
The committee also voted to spend about $1.4 million over two years to upgrade computer equipment and software for the state public defender’s office to make it less vulnerable to hacking and viruses.
The committee also voted to limit circumstances when district attorneys can hire special prosecutors.
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