Topeka — The Senate Ways and Means Committee endorsed a $109.4 million budget for the Department of Corrections Friday.
The committee recommended shifting about $180,000 within the budget to restore funding for educational and substance abuse treatment programs during fiscal year 2002, which begins July 1.
The governor had recommended a $2.7 million or 20 percent reduction in spending on offender services, which encompass in-prison substance abuse treatment and educational programs.
Corrections Secretary Charles Simmons said the department and not the governor made the recommendation to scale back on those programs.
"We're not satisfied," Simmons said "A lot of offenders have a substance abuse history."
If the funding had not been restored, the corrections subcommittee report said substance abuse treatment programs would have been reduced by 78.9 percent.
The committee didn't include money for pay raises for employees. It will consider pay raises for all state employees later.
A decrease in the budgets for Ellsworth and Topeka prisons reflects the completion of construction projects during fiscal 2001.
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