BCA seeks regional lab expansion to reduce backlogs and sustain turnaround times

Commissioner Bob Jacobson and Drew Evans, superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), presented the governor's 2026 public safety capital budget request and made the case for regional lab expansion to the Senate Capital Investment Committee on March 17.

Jacobson reviewed recent investments including the State Emergency Operations Center and thanked the committee for prior support of the Mankato lab. Evans said the Mankato facility (about 55,000 square feet) is expected to be occupied in March 2027, and he outlined a planned Bemidji expansion to nearly double regional laboratory space (roughly 53,000 square feet total in the plan) to address growth in controlled-substance and digital-evidence submissions (drug chemistry submissions rose from about 5,000 in 2003 to around 12,000 in 2024).

Evans described specialized needs (redundant HVAC, power, secure storage) that make retrofitting existing buildings costly and said predesign is complete for Bemidji. He estimated design costs of about $3,650,000 for the Bemidji expansion and said construction could begin in 2027 with occupancy targeted for 2028. He emphasized regionalization aims to preserve turnaround times and avoid repeated requests for additional staff by relocating current open positions to regional labs.

Committee members asked whether retrofitting existing commercial space could be a less costly option, and whether automation (high-throughput robots, rapid DNA) or other technologies might change staffing needs. Evans said the specialized lab infrastructure makes new construction more cost-effective for high-throughput work and that technologies like rapid DNA could change workflows but quality control and trained scientists remain essential.

No committee action was taken on the BCA request during the hearing; members thanked the presenters and adjourned.