Committee restores funding for Pittsburgh Regional Crime Center in KBI FY2027 recommendation

A special budget committee voted to approve the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) budgets for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, restoring targeted funding for the Pittsburgh Regional Crime Center.

The committee approved the FY2026 KBI recommendation by voice vote and then adopted the SBC recommendation for FY2027 with an adjustment to restore Enhancement #1 — Pittsburgh Regional Crime Center lab operating expenses — at $885,545 from the State General Fund (SGF). The motion also referenced a $229,386 SGF recruitment and retention (career progression) plan; committee members clarified that the career progression plan had not been removed by the SBC and therefore did not require being added back.

"I move the SBC's recommendation to HB 24 34 with 2 adjustments," an unidentified committee member said when presenting the FY2027 motion. Representative Ellis raised a funding question during the discussion, saying, "The total would be over 1,000,000." The committee chair responded that only the $885,545 SGF restoration to the Pittsburgh Regional Crime Center was necessary once staff confirmed the recruitment and retention item remained in the baseline.

The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote; the meeting record indicates "FY 2027 passes" and the committee closed the KBI budget recommendation. The vote was a voice vote and no roll-call tally was specified in the transcript.

Next steps: the committee moved on to consider the Kansas Sentencing Commission's budget after closing the KBI recommendation.

Note on recordkeeping: the transcript lists the bill identifier as "HB 24 34"; that formatting appears in the committee record.