May 18, 2009
Legislators no closer to getting a new home
By Phillip Rawls
The Associated Press
The Alabama Legislature isn't getting a new State House to replace its flood-damaged building -- at least for now.
The Legislature's 2009 session wrapped up Friday afternoon with the Senate failing to vote on a bill that would have permitted construction of a new State House connecting to the Capitol in downtown Montgomery.
Opponents said the eight-story building now housing the lawmakers does have problems, but legislators shouldn't be talking about a new State House during a recession.
"The people of Alabama are struggling to stay in their houses," Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, said.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., who presides over the Senate, agreed. "In a few years when the economy has improved, it might be time," he said.
The chairman of the Legislative Building Authority, Rep. Richard Laird, R-Roanoke, has been pushing for a new State House for several years. He said he hears the same reasons every year -- no matter what the state of the economy.
"There is never a right time for some people," he said Friday as he watched the Senate wrap up its session without considering his bill for a new State House.
Laird said he wanted to get his bill passed just to start planning, and no construction would have begun until the economy improved.
The House voted 47-36 last month for Laird's bill. It would have expanded the powers of the Legislative Building Authority, including letting it sign an agreement with the state pension fund to build a State House or sell bonds for the project. The structure would be located behind the Capitol and attached to it.
Laird said he thought the bill would sail through the Senate after heavy rains May 7 flooded the State House's bottom floor and parking deck, causing more than $1 million in damage to a building that already had problems with leaks and mold.
The State House was originally constructed in 1963 to house the state Highway Department. The Legislature moved from the Capitol to the building in 1986 for more space, but the number of lobbyists and citizens visiting the Legislature has grown.
The building's committee rooms are often overflowing and its hallways crowded. Its design makes it hard for people who use wheelchairs.
House Minority Leader Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, has been one of the biggest proponents of a new building. He said recently, "That building has outlived its usefulness and needs to be razed."
Hubbard is a member of the Legislative Building Authority, which has been looking at a 220,000-square-foot structure and a parking deck costing about $170 million.
Folsom said Laird's bill ran into trouble because of concerns that it would give the six members of the Legislative Building Authority control of parking and streets around the State House.
Parking spaces are coveted in the crowded Capitol complex.
Folsom, who is seeking re-election next year, said he has no concerns about remaining in his seventh floor State House office overlooking the Capitol.
"This building is quite functional for the time being and will do fine for a few more years until the economy improves," he said.
Prev
Linear Mode
