Capitol project puts crimp on public access

No towering interior rotunda. No benches in broad hallways to rest tired feet. Less public parking and a lot less public access to lawmakers.

When citizens, lobbyists and news media descend upon Capitol Hill Wednesday for the first official interim legislative day since the Capitol closed for refurbishing, the surroundings of the Utah Legislature will be much different.

"It's nice to have new offices, but it will be more cramped for the public and others," noted Senate Secretary Annette Moore.

In fact, there will be much to get used to in the new legislative office building, not the least of which is parking.

"We are down 200 spaces" from the total of public spaces of several years ago, said Dave Hart, executive director of the Capitol Preservation Board, the body of state officials, building experts and citizens overseeing the $300 million building/renovation work on Capitol Hill.

The governor, attorney general, auditor and treasurer and their staffs moved out of their Capitol offices this spring into new digs in the newly constructed east building.

Now, across a reconstructed plaza, the Legislature and its professional staff have moved into the west building. The 2005, 2006 and 2007 Legislatures will meet there, with officials hoping they can get the Legislature back into the refurbished Capitol for the January 2008 general session.

The move to the new offices and House and Senate chambers, started in June, has progressed enough that lawmakers will hold all of their August interim meetings in the new structure.

Lots of kinks remain, however. And it's likely that for a mid-September special session the 75-member House will voice roll-call votes because an old electronic vote-counting system taken from the Capitol can't be re-installed in time, officials said.

What citizens can expect Wednesday:

• The public has lost around 200 parking spaces as old lots have been closed. When the old Archives building next to the northwest lot is torn down later this year and a new heating/air conditioning plant built, another 200 spaces will be lost, said Hart.

  The 104 part-time legislators continue to have reserved spaces under the plaza. Top executive branch officials also have secure, reserved spots, while Capitol Hill employees have their own lots. The public will have to use more street parking, which has been increased in recent years with parallel spaces.

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