Committee amends Wildlife and Parks budget to add three game warden FTEs and reinstate $3,632 EDIF line

Secretary Kennedy opened comments before the Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) budget hearing by defending prior remarks about game warden operations and stressing officer safety. "Our game wardens are tasked with difficult and dangerous work," Kennedy said, and urged support for law‑enforcement staffing.

Legislative analysts noted the special committee deleted EDIF reappropriations across agencies; Luke Drury, senior fiscal analyst, told the committee that most EDIF lapses affected veteran and disabled-veteran license lines and that roughly $61,523 in reappropriations lapsed across the agency. He also summarized the governor’s FY2027 recommendation, which included adding 8 law‑enforcement FTEs and roughly $3.3 million SGF for hiring and equipment, and a modest state water plan fund operating reduction.

Members questioned where new positions would be located and whether hires were intended for parks, game warden duties, or to help with major events such as the World Cup. Kennedy said placement had not been finalized, that the titles would be game wardens, and that the restructuring aims to train staff for both park and game‑warden duties to improve coverage and safety.

On fee policy, KDWP explained that camping and other park-fee revenue go into a parks fund used across sites; commissioners said it had been 10–15 years since a fee increase and argued the agency needs revenue to address a large infrastructure backlog.

Motion and votes: The committee moved to add three additional game warden FTEs for FY2027 at an estimated $125,000 apiece (roughly $375,000 total) split proportionally between State General Fund and other funds; the motion was seconded and the committee carried it. Representative Carlin moved separately to reinstate the governor’s recommended $3,632 EDIF reappropriation for 2026 (operating/administrative), members raised hands for a counted vote, and the motion passed by 4–3. The committee then voted to adopt the KDWP budget as amended.

Next steps: Fiscal staff will package the amended KDWP budget for a probes meeting the next morning; managers and legislators flagged the need to show vote counts and to continue discussions about staffing levels, equipment needs, and fee impacts.