Capitol Improvement Take Another Step Forward
Oklahoma Senate approves bond measure to fix state Capitol
By Randy Ellis
Up to $160 million in bonds could be issued to repair Oklahoma’s crumbling state Capitol under a bill approved Thursday by the state Senate. The vote was 36-11.
“We as a state Legislature historically have done a terrible job of taking care of our infrastructure,” said state Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, who carried the bill on the Senate floor. “We have a roof problem. We have a sewage problem. We have an electrical problem. If you walk the bowels of this building, you will see, literally, chicken wire and two-by-fours holding up the walls of this building.”
The governor focused part of her State of the State speech on the desperate need for Capitol repairs, noting that chunks of stone have fallen from the exterior and the smell of raw sewage beneath the century-old building sometimes drifts through the ventilation system.
No one questioned the need for repairs during Senate discussions on the bill, but there were arguments about how to pay for them.