State Senators Won't Get Plasma TVs In Their Offices
Posted: 4:57 pm CDT June 29, 2005Updated: 5:18 pm CDT June 29, 2005
MADISON, Wis -- The state Senate majority leader has put the kibosh on plasma televisions for senators' offices.The nonprofit group setting up C-Span-type coverage of the Legislature was going to put a plasma television in each of the 33 Senate offices.Republican state Sen. Cathy Steep of Sturtevant criticized the idea, which then caught the attention of Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who issued his own objections."It is simply outrageous that the state Senate would even be considering giving itself 33 plasma screen TVs. For the past 2½ years, I have been fighting to get state government to live within its means, and this kind of gross extravagance just sends exactly the wrong message," Doyle said in a statement.Majority Leader Dale Schultz said Wednesday the Senate offices will not be getting the televisions.WisconsinEye has been working on setting up continuous coverage of the Legislature for five years.The Muskego-Norway School District recently upset taxpayers when it used extra money from a capital improvement project to buy eight big-screen plasma televisions for the high school cafeteria. The televisions cost $57,000.
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