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KHP asks Legislature for support on reckless-driving bill, line-of-duty aid and facility funding
Summary
KHP requested support for Senate Bill 113 to clarify reckless driving, proposed legislation to formalize line-of-duty funeral assistance, and outlined multi-million-dollar budget requests for headquarters relocation, IT upgrades, troop relocations and scale-house replacement.
TOPEKA, Kan. — The Kansas Highway Patrol urged the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday to back a package of legislative and budget measures that the agency says would improve officer support and roadside safety.
Merle Bridal, chief of staff for the Kansas Highway Patrol, asked lawmakers to consider renewed support for Senate Bill 113, legislation that would define reckless driving as traveling 100 mph or more, or 35 mph over the posted limit. "That bill would clarify that when a driver travels a 100 miles per hour or more or when a driver travels 35 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit, they have committed reckless driving," Bridal said. She told the committee SB 113 had been passed by the Senate Transportation Committee and returned to this committee for consideration.
Bridal also requested a bill to formalize state assistance when an officer dies in the line of duty, requiring the Kansas Highway Patrol and Kansas Bureau of Investigation to make temporary personnel or other assistance available to agencies experiencing a line-of-duty death. "While KHP and KBI currently provide such assistance, this legislation would ensure those services are offered in the future," Bridal said.
On funding, Bridal summarized governor-recommended budget items affecting KHP. For fiscal year 2026 the governor proposed $2 million from the State Highway Fund for initial costs to relocate KHP's general headquarters to the first floor of the Curtis State Office Building. The governor also recommended $23,034,000 for IT infrastructure including dispatcher computer replacements; an additional $2 million in fiscal 2027 toward headquarters relocation; $26,800,000 in state general funds to move Troop C and Troop S from the former Marymount College campus to KDOT property in west Salina; and $6,700,000 from the State Highway Fund to replace the South Olathe scale house.
Bridal said KHP prefers relocation to the Curtis building because it consolidates leased office space that terminates in 2028, provides adjacent secure parking and keeps the agency near the Statehouse and Capitol Police headquarters. She said funding would also be needed to reconfigure the vacated department offices for law-enforcement use.
Senators asked follow-up questions about retention of new troopers and about the timeline for the governor's recommendations; Bridal said KHP would provide specific retention-rate figures on request and reiterated the agency's staffing target of 535 sworn officers.
No committee vote was taken on SB 113 or the budget items during the session; Bridal asked members to consider continued support as the legislative process continues.
