Appropriations Committee approves multiple FY2026–27 agency budgets after debate over fee funds and disaster-match requests

The Committee on Appropriations voted Wednesday to approve a package of FY2026 and FY2027 budgets for several state agencies, clearing contested line items after a series of voice votes and amendments.

Chairman Anderson presented revised estimates for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), telling the committee the agencys FY2026 revised estimate is $62,300,000, including $45,500,000 from the State General Fund. He said the agency's increases were mainly for laboratory instrumentation, passenger vehicles and remodeling at the Great Bend lab. Anderson said the agency expects to onboard staff and upgrade national criminal-history systems as part of IT costs. "They should be fully operational by the start of next year," Anderson said of the Pittsburgh Regional Crime Center the agency is preparing to open.

The most contested single dollar figure involved a proposed $885,545 operating allocation for the Pittsburgh Regional Crime Center. Vice Chair Williams moved that the amount be paid from KBI's record check fee fund rather than SGF, noting the budget summary showed a $4,149,213 balance in that fund. "My motion was to, take 885,545which was going to be SGF... and instead of paying for it out of SGF, we would have it paid from the record check fee fund," Williams said. Members questioned whether…