Idaho Capitol renovation plan approved by Legislature

BOISE – The Idaho Legislature approved a plan Wednesday to remodel the Capitol and add two underground wings to the Statehouse.

The plan, which passed the Senate 33-2, would add about 100,000 square feet of office and meeting space in a pair of two-story structures beneath the east and west ends of the Capitol campus. The work, to begin next year, is estimated to cost about $40 million for the additions and $75 million for Capitol renovations.

Money will come from tobacco taxes.

The measure, which passed the House last week, calls for underground, “garden-level” wings that would include skylights to make it appear less like a gloomy basement.

The Capitol, completed in 1920, lacks meeting space and has outdated emergency systems, escape routes and sprinkler systems. The only exits from the Legislative chambers and hearing rooms are through narrow corridors to the rotunda, and the building’s two elevators cannot accommodate gurneys.

Committee hearings often exceed capacity, leaving observers listening from the halls or standing in the back of the rooms, said Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise.

“It’s been increasingly difficult to get people involved in government because we can’t accommodate them with the space we have,” Werk said.

Construction is expected start after the 2007 legislative session ends next April and should take about 30 months. During the two sessions the Statehouse is under construction, lawmakers will meet in the old Ada County Courthouse next to the Capitol. The former courthouse is being improved to accommodate lawmakers.

In his State of the State address in January, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne called for the Legislature to pass a plan so Capitol renovation could start this September. Kempthorne spokesman Mike Journee said the governor, despite the delay, is pleased the renovation and additions are moving forward.

Kempthorne won’t have to sign the bill, but a spending bill for the renovation will require his signature.

The only dissent to the plan in the Senate came from Sen. Mike Burkett, D-Boise, and Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow.

Burkett said the state should conduct more long-term planning and look at less-expensive options, like renovating the old courthouse and the Borah Building across the street. He also said other problems, including deteriorating schools, should be dealt with before a $115 million Capitol revamp.