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Rep. Richard Laird is tired of wading
through dozens of lobbyists just to get from his office to the
floor of the House.
The Roanoke Democrat gets aggravated
every time he has to push his way through the hallways. It
just shouldn't be that way, he said.
Outside the room where the House Public
Safety Committee meets, Rep. David Grimes has
seen times when citizens can't get into the room. It's too
small, so they line the hallways trying their best to hear
what's going on inside.
When people can't get into the meetings,
they get mad, Grimes, R-Montgomery, said.
Tired of jostling past lobbyists and
watching the public get shut out of committee meetings, Laird
decided it was time to do something.
So he sponsored a bill that created the
Legislative Building Committee and charges the panel with the
task of analyzing how to best use the limited space in the
State House. Everything is on the table -- including
renovation and even construction of a new State House.
Gov. Bob Riley signed the bill Thursday.
"We have been talking about this for
many years," said Laird. "Sometimes we have to wade
through 300 lobbyists in the hallways."
The bill has its detractors -- especially
those who oppose any plan to build a new State House. Grimes,
R-Montgomery, won't support new construction.
"I don't think that's necessary at
this point," said Grimes, who pointed out he
thinks
the Senate is already too elaborate.
But he does agree that more meeting space
is needed. The House Public Safety Committee is a good example
of the problem.
"Every meeting they have, people are
spilling out into the hall," Grimes said.
Rep. Thad McClammy, D-Montgomery, chairs
that committee. The tight quarters don't allow much room for
would-be spectators, he said.
"They think they deserve more and
they do," said McClammy, referring to people who
routinely find themselves standing in the hallways.
Sen. Wendell Mitchell has seen similar
meeting space issues in the Senate, particularly when public
hearings are scheduled.
"When you have a major issue, people
line the walls," said the senator from Luverne.
McClammy said most citizens don't
understand how cramped quarters are at the State House, so he
thinks talk about renovation or a new building won't have much
public support.
"They probably think we live in some
luxury," he said. "The average legislator is
conducting business in something about the size of a big broom
closet."
Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgomery, sees the
space problem differently. If legislators didn't hire
unnecessary staff, space wouldn't be an issue, he said.
"The Legislature is expanding
itself," Dixon said. "If we didn't hire them, we
wouldn't need more space."
A plan to move the Alabama attorney
general's office out of the State House would free up 90,000
square feet of space. The attorney general's office would be
relocated to the old Public Safety Building in front of the
Capitol by August 2008.
However, the Legislature hasn't
appropriated money to cover the move, said Chris Bence,
spokesman for the attorney general's office.
Those funds also would be needed to cover
the 60 percent increase in rent the attorney general's office
would pay the state finance department for space that's about
5,000 square feet less than the State House location.
Bence said until the financial issue is
resolved, the office will stay put.
"We're pretty much stuck where we
are," he said.
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