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 the fee-fund balance was reliable and expressed concern about using a large portion of a fee fund for operating expenses. After discussion, the motion carried on a voice vote.

Chairman Anderson then moved the KBI budgets for FY2026 and FY2027 as amended; the motion was seconded and approved.

The committee also considered the Board of Indigent Defense Services' requests, which included increases to assigned-counsel caseload funding, expert witnesses and additional staffing. Anderson said the former executive director had sought much larger enhancements and the new director trimmed those requests. The committee restored roughly $1,075,500 of the agency's supplemental ask (including partial expert-witness funding) while deleting other enhancements; members debated whether unfilled FTE dollars should be lapsed or reappropriated for counsel expenses. Vice Chair Williams successfully moved to strike an item that would have lapsed unfilled positions, leaving the money available for review next year.

On the Adjutant General's budget, members debated whether to add roughly $2.01 million in state match to draw down an estimated $15 million in federal disaster-recovery funds. Representative Voye argued the state match would unlock the larger federal drawdown; opponents said the legislature could add funding next year and noted the federal approval process faces a backlog. The amendment failed on a voice vote. The Adjutant General budgets were then approved.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal had several enhancement deletions and restorations across committees; the House added $500,000 for volunteer fire department equipment grants to come from the agency's fee fund. Members discussed whether a local match should be required; several said small volunteer departments likely cannot provide a cash match.

Water-related programs were a repeated focus. Chairperson Mosher led the Kansas Water Office briefing and the panel restored portions of requested water-planning and reservoir-sediment funding. The committee created a new $1,500,000 reservoir sediment-management line aimed at projects including John Redmond and hydro-suction work. Mosher said the restored projects were important because reservoirs supply roughly 40% of Kansans' water.

The committee also considered a $3,000,000 Musil Center for Sustainable Wheat Production proposed as a one-time project; Representative Rogers said the center has already raised $1,000,000 privately and that a $1,000,000 state contribution would be seed funding to secure additional private support and federal matches. The committee accepted the Department of Agriculture budgets as acceptable.

On KDHEs environment division, the committee moved $269,000 from an allotted drinking-water item into the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) program at KDHE after staff said that shift could help secure about $2.9 million in federal matching dollars. That amendment passed, and KDHE's budgets were approved.

All final approvals at the meeting were by voice vote; the committee set several items for further review and noted some amounts would be revisited if agencies report different needs next year. The committee adjourned with plans to reconvene the following morning for additional presentations and a bill hearing on HB2513.

Votes at a glance: The committee introduced RS 3279 (public safety bill) by voice vote; approved amended KBI budgets and approved moving $885,545 to be paid from the record check fee fund; passed motions to approve budgets for the Board of Indigent Defense Services (with partial restorations), Adjutant General, Office of the State Fire Marshal (including $500,000 volunteer grants), Kansas Water Office, Department of Agriculture (including a $1M one-time Musil Center state contribution request on the record) and KDHE (including the $269,000 shift to WRAPS). One high-profile amendmenta proposed $2.01M disaster match to draw down federal fundsfailed.