Walker's welfare overhaul bills cost more than $90 million

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Bills to toughen Wisconsin’s welfare requirements offered by Gov. Scott Walker are estimated to cost more than $90 million a year.

The proposals include increasing work requirements for able-bodied adults on food stamps and expanding the requirement for the first time to parents.

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Walker and Republican supporters say the measures will move more people off of welfare programs and into the workforce. Opponents argue they will be counter-productive and costly.

Democratic state Rep. Lisa Subeck, of Madison, reacted to the estimated costs Friday by calling the Walker proposal an “election-year gimmick.”

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An Assembly committee was expected to vote on the bills next week, clearing the way for the full Assembly to take them up later this month.