Legislature works on slate of bills

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- A $15 million increase was approved for the Department of Corrections Wednesday by the Senate General Conference Committee. <br><br>But the increase was a fraction of the $99 million

Wednesday, May 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- A $15 million increase was approved for the Department of Corrections Wednesday by the Senate General Conference Committee.

But the increase was a fraction of the $99 million of additional funds sought by the agency.

A boost of $2 million was provided for private prisons versus the $21 million sought by D-O-C. $4.5 million was appropriated for a community corrections program.

The House and Senate appropriations committees gave final approval Tuesday to a $1.9 billion appropriations bill for common education that includes a $177 million increase. Most of the increase will pay for the $3,000 annual teacher pay raises approved by lawmakers earlier in the session.

The committees also passed a $732 million higher education bill that includes $40 million more than last year, also for faculty and staff salaries.