Kansas Highway Patrol requests funds for body cameras, Salina repairs, Wichita hangar and aircraft replacement

The Kansas Highway Patrol asked the Legislative Budget Committee for targeted funding to implement body worn cameras, shore up deteriorating facilities at its Salina training academy, build a hangar at Wichita’s Jabara Airport and replace an aging aircraft.

The requests, presented by Merle Bridal, executive officer for the Highway Patrol, and described in the agency’s legislative briefing, aim to address officer safety, equipment obsolescence and security gaps at several KHP sites. Bridal said the agency has adjusted several earlier requests after receiving federal grant funds and identifying lower-cost options with state IT services.

Bridal told the committee the agency supports the governor’s budget report and that funding comes largely from transfers from the state highway fund and the state general fund. On body worn cameras, Bridal said the agency’s September request of up to $2,600,000 was reduced after the highway patrol received a $1,000,000 federal grant; the governor’s recommended amount shown to the committee was $1,500,000. Bridal said the $1.5 million would “support implementation of body worn cameras among state troopers and motor carrier inspectors for FY 2025,” and would include devices and infrastructure such as 500 in‑vehicle routers to speed upload of recorded data.

Representative Bresman asked whether the $1,500,000 “includes storage of the video.” Bridal replied, “That does include data storage for the recording devices.” When asked about retention periods, Bridal said the agency would follow “a retention schedule that…