The Wisconsin Legislature's budget committee unanimously approved funding for 31 additional Wisconsin State Crime Lab workers Wednesday to eliminate a 1,700-case backlog.
The budget-repair bill — which allocates remaining funds from the state's two-year budget — provides additional funding for hiring 29 DNA analysts and two DNA technicians. The Department of Justice could hire new workers as early as April 1.
Gov. Jim Doyle had proposed 15 analysts in his budget, but Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the crime lab would need 31 lab workers to eliminate the backlog by 2010.
"Just to catch up on those cases, we need that many professionals," said state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, a member of the bipartisan Joint Finance Committee. "If we had waited longer, even more positions would be needed. We are just providing the attorney general the tools needed to solve crime."
Matt Canter, a spokesperson for Doyle, told The Associated Press Wednesday night that the governor supports adding the 31 analysts.
Doyle addressed the situation facing the DNA crime lab in his Feb. 13 budget announcement and pledged to work to "clean up" the backlog.
"I also recognize that the situation at the crime lab is a major concern for law enforcement," Doyle said. "Let's all commit ourselves to working with the attorney general to clean up this backlog."
According to Suder, hiring the additional DNA analysts would cost Wisconsin about $200,000 over the next two years.
"It's a small price to pay for the delivery of justice," Suder said. "It would cost far more if we didn't do anything about the crime."
The allocation unanimously approved by the Joint Finance Committee would be used to provide one month of funding to support newly hired employees and offset one month of training and supply costs for the analysts.
According to data from the Department of Justice, the crime lab had a DNA analysis backlog of 1,785 cases by the end of 2006. The department estimated in a February report that the new positions would help eliminate the backlog by the end of 2010.
"This bill is a major victory for law enforcement and victims of crimes," Suder said. "They're waiting to find out the results, and to many of us, that's simply unacceptable."
The Joint Finance Committee also unanimously voted Wednesday night to allocate additional funding for childcare, BadgerCare and prison maintenance programs.
"This bill will help children, individuals and crime victims, and make sure that those criminals arrested due to DNA sampling remain in jail," Suder said.
After passing committee, the bill will now be taken to both Houses for voting. If passed, it would need Doyle's approval to go into effect.
