Committee moves four state police detective posts and adds red-flag lieutenant and vehicle to supplemental highway budget
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Summary
A legislative work session on LD 2213 added four executive protection detective positions and approved one lieutenant and a hybrid utility vehicle for red-flag enforcement, while staff explained a $50 million GARVEE bond authorization to cushion potential federal funding delays.
Representative Lydia Crafts convened a work session on LD 2213 and the committee moved to add four state police detective positions to the supplemental highway fund budget. The motion to move reference 55 was made after Department of Public Safety testimony and carried unanimously of those present.
Why it matters: Committee members pressed the department about officer safety and funding sources before voting. A department representative said specialized executive protection roles require training and argued the positions respond to a rise in threats to the Capitol complex.
Department rationale and figures: The commissioner for the Department of Public Safety told the committee the Capitol complex has experienced a sharp increase in threats in recent years, and characterized the executive protection unit (EPU) as a specialized detective function whose training is not interchangeable with routine trooper assignments. On staffing, the commissioner said the department’s records show about 615 yellow-flag protective-custody incidents in 2025 and warned that if a portion of those incidents convert to red-flag cases, tactical resources will be stretched. On red-flag staffing (reference 8), the committee heard a proposal for one lieutenant, one corporal and three specialists; committee discussion noted the state’s 35% share for those positions would be roughly $457,000.
Funding and GARVEE: Staff also reviewed the governor’s change package line items — a set of personnel reclassifications and other adjustments — and flagged a $50,000,000 GARVEE special-revenue allocation in the DOT highway and bridge capital section. The Department of Transportation explained GARVEE bonding as borrowing against anticipated federal highway funds to provide a cushion against delays or a federal funding lapse; staff said a related general-fund transfer of about $13,000,000 was included elsewhere to help cover the change package.
Votes and next steps: After discussion, the committee voted to move in one lieutenant position and one Ford police interceptor utility hybrid under reference 8; Representative Wayne Perry moved the package deletions as presented in the change package; and Representative Carey moved that the supplemental highway fund budget ought to pass as amended. The chair recorded the votes as unanimous of those present; the transcript does not include individual roll-call tallies. Committee members were told AFA (Appropriations & Financial Affairs) has acted on only a subset of the change-package items and that if unresolved issues remain after AFA work, the committee can revisit items or fix them with floor amendment.
The committee adjourned after completing the work session; no floor action was recorded in the transcript.
