A first-term state senator made a sharp observation during a Capitol hearing on the high cost of overtime and sick leave for state employees last week.

A recent audit showed that state employees use an average of 65 hours of sick leave annually. That 's about a week-and-a-half of paid time off for illness.

"I don 't think I 've used 65 hours of sick time in my entire working career, " said Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, an attorney and small business owner. "If I 'm running a business or state agency and someone were to call in sick and they weren 't, then they 're lying to the boss. They should be disciplined. "

Sullivan 's comment Thursday sent a strong and needed signal to the heads of state agencies to better scrutinize some of their employees.

Sullivan is co-chairman of the Legislature 's Joint Audit Committee. He wants more detail on sick leave from agency heads by January. The agencies also are supposed to prepare reports on ways to reduce overtime costs.

The two issues are connected because sick leave contributes to higher overtime, the audit found. And state overtime costs increased 15 percent, to $65 million, from 2005 to 2007 for state government.

Few other state expenses have grown so rapidly in recent years as Wisconsin leaders grapple with chronic budget shortfalls and a shaky economy.

Sullivan acknowledged at Thursday 's hearing that some state employees no doubt require a lot of sick time for legitimate reasons. But higher use of sick leave by those employees should be offset by all of the healthy employees who don 't need as much, he added.

Suspicion is high that some Department of Corrections employees are abusing the system. The average prison officer took 106 hours of sick leave last year, the audit showed. That 's about two-and-a-half weeks.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also reported in May that eight of the 20 correctional officers with the highest pay called in sick for a shift and then worked the very next shift at least once during 2006. That means these officers earned eight hours of regular pay for being sick, plus time-and-a-half pay for the eight hours they worked.

Corrections officials have suggested to auditors that they need more leeway to sanction employees who abuse the system. Lawmakers need to determine if that 's true or just an excuse for poor management.

In the meantime, Sullivan 's strong stand Thursday sets the right tone. He and other lawmakers need to keep pushing for answers and demanding accountability for taxpayers.