The Department of Criminal Investigation told the Joint Appropriations Committee that rising digital investigations and forensic workloads are stressing systems and budgets. Director Jones said Wyoming faces growing demand for ICAC (internet crimes against children) investigations, more device forensics and increased maintenance and security obligations to remain connected to national systems.

"We have to pay dues to [Nlets] every year, and the dues have gone up," Director Jones said when explaining a fee increase that many states are contesting. He told the committee Wyoming voted against a recent ~50% dues increase but lost the statewide vote; DCI said the nonprofit managing the network has cited higher operating costs.

DCI asked the committee for funding requests that include: NCIC/INLETS dues; FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) security upgrades required by the FBI to retain NCIC access; a disaster-recovery capability (the governor recommended an initial $500,000 cloud approach); and operating support for the State Crime Lab. Jones said the lab is managing a heavy workload (the ICAC unit handled more than 1,100 referrals in the last year and the crime lab processed 8,000 analyses in 2024) and that DCI is outsourcing firearms analyses because reestablishing an in-house firearms unit would cost an estimated $715,000 and require lengthy training.

Committee members questioned turnaround times and whether outsourcing slows prosecutions. DCI replied contracting with specialized consultants has sped some analyses and is more cost-effective than rebuilding a heavily used but small in-house unit.

On offender registration and special-revenue accounts, DCI briefed the committee that the current $120 offender-registration fee covers only a portion of operating costs and that annual receipts (~$44,000) leave roughly $120,000 short of annual maintenance, prompting discussion about general-fund or fee adjustments.

What's next: Committee members pressed for more detail on the NCIC/INLETS fee increase and asked agencies to pursue grant funding where possible for IT upgrades. No appropriation was finalized during the hearing.