MADISON - The state Assembly is considering a suite of bills aimed at cracking down on crime that could hasten the need to spend millions of dollars on new prisons.

Some Assembly Republicans are considering the measures at the tail end of the legislative session, limiting the chances of getting them passed. Even if they succeed, the bills face likely vetoes from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

But the bills highlight a contrast between some Republicans and Evers, who has called for halving the state’s prison population over the coming years.

They also show some Wisconsin Republicans are heading in a different direction than Republicans in Congress and Republicans in other states. President Donald Trump signed a criminal justice reform bill in December that had the backing of House Republicans, and several red states in recent years have embraced efforts to reduce their prison populations.

The Wisconsin bills would result in more people who violate the terms of their probation to be returned to prison, put more juveniles who commit crimes behind bars and limit when inmates can be released from prison early.

The measures face resistance from some Republicans.

At a Thursday hearing, Republican Rep. Michael Schraa of Oshkosh questioned how the state could afford the measures. He said they were in direct conflict with efforts he has embraced to reduce the prison population.

“This goes in the face of (prison reform), in my opinion,” Schraa said. “I just don’t know where that money’s going to come from. I just have real concerns that this is the opposite direction.”

But backers of the measures said they were necessary to keep the public safe.

“If an individual is on extended supervision, on probation, for a crime and commits another crime … it is hard for me to say, ‘You know what? The world needs to have sympathy for that individual for having committed a second crime,’ ” said GOP Sen. Dave Craig of Big Bend.

The state’s prisons are already overpopulated and adding more inmates would require at least one new prison to be built. They were designed to hold about 17,800 inmates but now house about 23,500 inmates.

Nonpartisan budget officials have determined building a new prison could cost up to $350 million. Running it would cost millions of dollars more each year.

The bill that would require more juveniles to be locked up comes two years after lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to close the state’s teen prisons, Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls.

They are to be replaced with smaller, regional facilities that have yet to be built. Legislators have not allocated full funding for those new buildings, making it unlikely Lincoln Hills will close in 2021, as required by law.

Part of the argument for building smaller facilities was centered on a belief that the state could more effectively rehabilitate juvenile offenders if it provided them with treatment instead of incarcerating them.

Now some Assembly Republicans want to head in a different direction. Assembly Bill 806 would allow judges to lock up teens whenever they commit offenses that would be considered felonies if they were adults. Under current law, there are more limits on when they can be put behind bars.

The fate of the bills is unclear. GOP Rep. John Spiros of Marshfield, the chairman of the Assembly Criminal Justice Committee, hasn’t scheduled a vote on the bills yet.

If the bills clear the committee, the Assembly can take them up. But time is short. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester has said he wants to end the legislative session by the end of February.

Assembly Bill 805 would require the Department of Corrections to recommend revoking extended supervision, probation and parole for those who are charged with committing crimes while on court supervision. That would lead to judges sending more of those offenders back to prison while their new cases move through the courts.

Much of Thursday’s committee debate focused on that bill because it would likely lead to a new prison. Craig said he believed the state could reprioritize the billions of dollars it spends each year to accommodate increased prison costs, but he didn’t say what specifically he would be willing to cut.

GOP Rep. David Steffen of Green Bay pressed Craig on the cost of the bill — and referenced Craig’s vote against the last state budget despite broad Republican support for it.

“If this was kicked to the next state budget, would you, Sen. Craig, be interested in supporting the next budget?” Steffen asked.

Craig demurred, saying he wouldn’t commit to backing the next budget.

“I will not fall into that leadership trap,” he said.

In a letter to lawmakers, Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr said that bill and others were too costly. He told them they could find ways to save money and make the public safer.

"Building any new prisons to house a ballooning prison population would require hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and years in the state building process before any doors would open to provide capacity relief," wrote Carr, an Evers appointee. "We should not look to add more prison beds; instead we should work to reduce our prison population."

Assembly Bill 809 would restrict who can be released from prison early. There are already limits on when inmates can be released early, but backers said they should be tightened to make sure violent offenders aren’t released early.

Assembly Bill 807 would require jail sentences of 180 days for shoplifting.

Assembly Bill 817 would bar people from being released without bail if they were charged with bail jumping.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.