NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on March 17 asked the Finance, Ways and Means Committee for personnel and program expansions, including a proposed wastewater testing pilot funded with opioid abatement dollars and a separate expansion request to add a CJIS supervisor to manage Tennessee's firearms background-check training and audits.

Director David Rausch said the bureau's FY 2026 budget request centers on personnel additions to critical investigative and support roles and on a prevention-focused pilot that would test wastewater to detect new or emerging drugs in communities earlier than current laboratory evidence allows.

Why it matters: The bureau framed the wastewater testing pilot as a prevention and early-warning tool to help public-health and law-enforcement partners identify substances arriving in the state more quickly. The personnel requests are aimed at reducing investigative backlogs and expanding operational capacity, including aviation support that the bureau says supplements helicopter operations conducted by other agencies.

What the bureau asked for

- Personnel: Rausch presented requests for new positions including four victim-services staff, seven intelligence analysts distributed across divisions, four aviation crew members to expand fixed-wing surveillance and transport capability, two TBI police officers (for Memphis and Chattanooga facilities protection and background checks), two Medicaid-fraud data-analytics positions (75% federal reimbursement, 25% state), and administrative support positions for human resources, legal and communications functions.

- Wastewater testing pilot: Rausch said the bureau is seeking $3,000,000 (nonrecurring) from opioid-abatement funds to run a pilot primarily in East Tennessee. Leader Cochran read from prior materials the pilot would target a set of sites in the Knoxville area including 16 dorms, 12 public high schools and up to 20 ad hoc community locations based on complaints. Rausch said the work will be done by a contractor and emphasized the pilot's prevention intent: early detection would allow public-health and treatment partners to target prevention and treatment resources sooner. The bureau told lawmakers the pilot could expand statewide if results justify it; a statewide cost estimate would follow pilot results.

- CJIS supervisor expansion request: As part of an expansion hearing, the bureau requested authorization to add one CJIS supervisor in the Tennessee Instant Check System (TICS) unit to manage training and auditing for background checks tied to firearm purchases. Director Rausch said the position would be funded from TICS fee revenue and that the fee has been $10 per background check since the program's creation. The exact dollar figure for the expansion presentation was inconsistent on the record and was not specified in committee materials.

Committee questions and details

Members asked about hiring difficulties and vacancies; Rausch said many vacant positions were in process and that recent salary improvements increased application numbers. On aviation, Rausch described coordination with the Department of Safety's helicopter assets and said the TBI fixed-wing assets are used for surveillance at altitude and for long-distance transport.

On the wastewater pilot, lawmakers asked how success would be measured and whether the pilot should be funded long-term from opioid-abatement monies; Rausch said success would be early identification of narcotics and that whether the pilot becomes ongoing funding from abatement funds would depend on results and further review.

What the committee did: The hearing included presentation of the bureau's expansion requests and follow-up questions; no formal appropriation votes or committee actions were recorded during the session.

Ending: Rausch said the bureau will supply detail on vacancies, timelines and the CJIS/TICS financial balance; committee staff requested additional budget detail for staff review.