The Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee today will consider a measure to provide more funding and staff so the state Department of Justice can investigation officer-involved shootings. Legislators from both parties approved a bill last year to have independent reviews of police shootings. Since then, the issue has taken on national prominence because of incidents in Baltimore, Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere. But the latest revenue estimates may place the proposal at peril, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel has called for more funding and staff because he has said local agencies are looking to his office to review police shootings. Gov. Scott Walker and Schimel have also asked to create the office of solicitor general. The four-person agency would cost more than $1 million over two years and would be responsible for dealing with cases that require special attention. Legislators are expected to make recommendations on the funding today.