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KBI urges legislature to address dilapidated headquarters, lab and offender‑tracking upgrades
Summary
Kansas Bureau of Investigation leaders pressed for a modern headquarters and funding for lab equipment, a new offender‑registration system and child victim units, while the committee noted vacancy and budget tradeoffs.
Tony Mativi, director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and Kyle Anderson, KLRD fiscal analyst, briefed the Ways and Means Committee on the KBI’s FY2025–26 budget requests and infrastructure needs, including a proposed replacement headquarters, laboratory investments and a statewide offender‑registration upgrade.
Mativi described the current headquarters building as a long‑standing operational liability. He said an independent needs assessment recommended about 35,000 square feet on a 7–9 acre footprint and estimated a new facility cost of roughly $115 million; he added that bringing the current facility up to code would cost an estimated $86 million. “The building we’re in is a liability,” Mativi told the committee, citing persistent water leaks under critical communications hardware, a crumbling parking garage and lack of command‑post space.
The agency’s FY2026 request originally included a $93 million request for a new headquarters; the House did not fund that request and the special LBC committee removed it. Other KBI requests included: $1.2 million for laboratory infrastructure (partially funded by governors/house but later adjusted to ARPA interest money then removed by an ARPA global action), $526,000 for security storage area network (not funded), and $500,000 to replace the Kansas offender registration system (Ksort), which KBI described as an aging platform some sheriffs have replaced independently.
Mativi said KBI is pursuing federal SORNA funding for the offender‑registration replacement and pledged to continue seeking grants rather than rely solely on SGF. He also described law‑enforcement operational investments the legislature previously funded, including career progression plan (CPP) increases for agents and scientist positions tied to SB 291, some of which remained in the KBI request package.
On staffing and vacancies, KBI fiscal staff and Chief Fiscal Officer Paul Weisker told senators the agency had roughly 25.5 SGF‑funded positions vacant for more than 180 days, representing about $2.0 million in unspent salary authority; Weisker also said KBI had selected 12 agent candidates who were in the onboarding process. Directors and senators discussed the difficulty of recruiting for specialized roles and options for leased space or partnering with other agencies for training facilities to reduce costs.
Mativi also discussed Kansas’ Child Victim Unit (CVU) program and the challenge of staffing specialized CVU positions. The KBI established a Northeast Region CVU more than eight years ago that the agency said successfully reduced backlogged child exploitation investigations; the agency has since stood up West and Southeast region CVUs but is still working to recruit for some positions, particularly in the West Region where staffing is harder.
Committee members asked for performance metrics on the KBI’s fentanyl‑focused task forces and for an update on vacancy durations. KBI staff said they would provide more detailed metrics and vacancy histories on request.
