TBI requests new positions, proposes wastewater testing pilot funded by opioid abatement

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation asked the Finance, Ways and Means Committee on March 17 for additional staff and a nonrecurring pilot to expand early drug detection capabilities and investigative support.

Director David Rausch outlined personnel requests across the agency that he said address gaps created by bureau growth: four victim-services positions to assist victims during investigations; seven intelligence-analyst positions to collect and process information for investigators; a four-person aviation crew to expand aircraft operations; two TBI police officers for facility protection in Memphis and Chattanooga; two Medicaid-fraud data-analytics positions (75% federally funded); and three administrative-support roles for human resources, legal and communications.

Rausch described a wastewater testing pilot to be funded with opioid-abatement monies. The $3,000,000 nonrecurring proposal would pay a contractor to sample wastewater in East Tennessee, including a set of institutional sites and some ad hoc community locations. "The idea is to really get a feel for what's happening in specific areas," Rausch said, explaining the method identifies drugs present in a sewer catchment and can give an earlier indication of new substances than laboratory casework alone.

Leader Cox and other committee members pressed for details. Rausch said the pilot is intended primarily for early identification and prevention connections with the Department of Health and mental-health partners rather than direct enforcement, though he said ad hoc sampling could be used when communities report suspected drug houses to help prioritize surveillance.

The TBI reported progress reducing forensic evidence inventory: the bureau told the committee that in February 2024 it held 15,940 pieces of evidence and by February 2025 the inventory had fallen to 6,975. Rausch provided turnaround-time snapshots for sexual-assault evidence kits ("kit only") of 5.4 weeks in Nashville, 11.9 weeks in Knoxville and 12.8 weeks in Jackson; combined "kit plus" measures were longer in some locations.

On aviation operations, Rausch said the TBI's fixed-wing and surveillance assets are operationally distinct from the Department of Safety's primarily helicopter assets and that the agencies coordinate when both platforms are needed.

During the expansion-request portion of the hearing, Rausch sought approval for a CJIS supervisor within the Tennessee Instant Check System (TICS), noting the position's compensation and audit/training responsibilities will be funded from TICS fees. He said TICS fees remain $10 per background check and that the TICS reserve held about $7,000,000 at the time of the hearing.

Rausch told the committee some of the bureau's other funding requests were submitted as "opportunity asks" and were not funded in the governor's budget; he said the bureau would continue to press for resources in future cycles. The committee took no immediate action; members requested additional cost and scope details on the wastewater pilot and the aviation expansion.

Ending: The committee asked TBI for more detailed cost estimates and operational plans for the wastewater pilot and the new aviation and analytic positions; the CJIS supervisor expansion will be funded from TICS fees if approved.