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Committee reauthorizes Tennessee Bureau of Investigation until 2029; director outlines one‑year wastewater testing pilot and forensic progress
Summary
Lawmakers voted to advance the TBI sunset bill with a positive recommendation and heard testimony about a one‑year wastewater testing pilot funded by opioid-abatement dollars to detect emerging drugs earlier; TBI reported shorter forensic turnaround times and a lower evidence backlog after state investments.
NASHVILLE — The House Government Operations Committee advanced the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's sunset bill to calendar and rules with a positive recommendation on March 10. Chairman Lafferty presented the bill to extend the TBI's authorization through 2029 and the committee heard extended testimony from TBI Director David Rausch and policy director Patrick Power about new operational initiatives.
Director Rausch described a planned one‑year pilot project to test wastewater in selected areas of East Tennessee (including Knoxville). He said the primary purpose is prevention: wastewater sampling can detect the presence and emergence of specific drugs at a neighborhood scale and direct public‑health partners to target education, prevention and treatment resources. "The idea is what can be done is to determine ... give us advanced notice of drugs that are in systems that are flowing," Rausch said. He and Power emphasized that the testing is intended to identify general areas (not specific addresses) and that any limited enforcement use would be narrowly focused and follow legal process.
Power cited past instances where early detection might have helped public-health and first responders, referencing drugs such as xylazine and more recent compounds he described as "nidazines." "This kind of program would allow us to detect that and get ahead of it a lot sooner instead of waiting for those deaths and waiting for the back end and then responding," Power said.
Committee members pressed the TBI on rationale and oversight. Several members asked why local law enforcement could not provide similar information; Rausch said local police are essential partners but that wastewater testing can provide faster, earlier indicators than waiting for overdose data or autopsy results, which can arrive months later. Rausch said the pilot was selected for East Tennessee because of higher overdose and enforcement activity in that region.
Rausch also reported forensic-laboratory performance improvements since additional state funding and staffing. He said the inventory of evidence items awaiting processing fell from 15,940 items in February 2024 to 6,975 items at the time of the hearing. He provided turnaround figures for forensic DNA testing and assault-kit processing: kit-only turnaround times were reported as 5.4 weeks in Nashville, 11.9 weeks in Knoxville and 12.8 weeks in Jackson; for kits with additional items the times were longer, with Nashville at 24.6 weeks, Knoxville at 12.3 weeks and Jackson at 14.2 weeks. The bureau reported a statewide average of about 12.4 weeks across categories.
On funding for the wastewater pilot, Rausch said the project would use opioid‑abatement funds, not general‑fund money. The pilot is one year in duration.
After questions from members, the committee recorded a favorable recommendation to forward the TBI sunset bill. The clerk reported the committee tally as 9 ayes and 0 noes for the motion taken on the record.
The TBI directors asked for continued legislative cooperation on lab capacity, training and staffing; members indicated interest in follow‑up and said lab siting in Memphis/Shelby County and continued improvements in turnaround times were priorities for the committee.
