KBI seeks $93 million for new headquarters; legislators hear narrower governor recommendations for lab, cybersecurity and staffing

Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Mativi told the Legislative Budget Committee during a budget hearing that the agency needs a new headquarters and presented a 2026 funding package that includes a $93 million state general fund (SGF) request for a replacement facility, plus requests for lab equipment, cybersecurity staff and an offender-registration system.

Mativ i said the current Topeka headquarters — a converted middle school the agency now uses for administrative and information services functions — is “simply not a safe environment for our people to work in,” citing crumbling concrete, decaying pipes, lack of fire suppression and unsecured building perimeter. He said the agency’s capital request for a new building is the principal item in its 2026 budget package.

Why it matters: the KBI provides statewide investigative and forensic services used by local law enforcement. Director Mativi told lawmakers problems at the headquarters affect staff safety, long-term evidence storage and the agency’s ability to recruit and retain specialized personnel such as agents and forensic scientists.

In his presentation, Kyle, a legislative budget committee analyst, walked the committee through the fiscal 2025 revised and fiscal 2026 agency requests and noted spreadsheet calculation errors in the packet: “The approved value for 2025 should be 66,175,383 when you add those two numbers,” he told the committee, pointing to a printed table error. Kyle also summarized LBC and governor changes to the agency’s requests.

Key 2026 requests and committee actions - New KBI headquarters: $93,000,000 SGF request to replace the present…