Assembly OKs bill resurrecting conservation corps program

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Assembly has passed a bill that would re-establish the Wisconsin Conservation Corps.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and GOP lawmakers eliminated the corps in 2003. Republican Rep. Jeff Mursau’s bill calls for the state Department of Administration to shift $400,000 from other state agencies to pay for grants for organizations looking to complete conservation projects on public or tribal land.

Workers on such projects would have to be between 16 and 25. And at least half of them couldn’t hold a college degree or come from families that make more than 200 percent of the federal poverty line. The workers could receive money from the federal AmeriCorps program.

The Assembly approved the bill on a voice vote Tuesday, sending it to the state Senate.