32 Open DNR Jobs Might Be Cut

Thirty-two open jobs at the Department of Natural Resources would be cut under a proposal approved today by Joint Finance Committee Republicans.

GOP lawmakers said none of the positions were vital since they had all been vacant for at least a year. But Sen. Cory Mason (D-Racine) said nobody knew what the effect the cuts would have on environmental regulation at an agency that’s already short-staffed.

“What I hear from people in the agency and former people who used to work at the agency is there’s real questions about what federal environmental laws will or won’t be enforced on a given day based on the resources that they have in front of them.”