Subcommittee hears overview of DPSST budget, staffing and facility needs ahead of fee bill hearing

The Public Safety Subcommittee opened an informational hearing on House Bill 5,032 on the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training's (DPSST) 2025-27 governor's recommended budget, hearing agency leaders and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Chief Financial Office lay out revenue, staffing and facility challenges.

Jonathan Bennett, with the DAS Chief Financial Office, told the subcommittee that the agency's current service-level budget for 2025-27 is roughly $97,300,000 and that about two-thirds of DPSST's funding comes from the criminal fines account. "The criminal fines account accounts for about 2 thirds of the agency's budget and supports the criminal justice training and certification functions of the agency," Bennett said, and he warned the panel of declining revenues and increased allocations that are stressing that fund.

DPSST Director Phil Castle and Deputy Director Kathy McAlpine described program demand, training capacity and proposed budget priorities. Castle said the agency currently staffs about 184 positions at service level and that the governor's budget would add 16 positions to bolster training, maintenance and program staff. He also said the budget includes funding for a study to examine expansion or replacement of aging academy facilities and bond funding for a cloud-based learning management…