A new juvenile prison would be built near Milwaukee under a bipartisan bill that would authorize borrowing $42 million for the project.
The measure comes after years of delays in closing the embattled Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake juvenile prisons north of Wausau in Irma.
The state missed a July deadline last year to close the juvenile prisons, which have been the target of numerous lawsuits alleging abuse by guards, multimillion-dollar settlements and criminal investigations.
Even if the bill wins approval, the Wisconsin State Journal reports Tuesday that it could be years before the facility is constructed.