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Capitol View®
Tim Pugmire

State Senate panel to vote next week on office plans

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A Minnesota Senate panel is expected to vote next week on the new office building planned for construction across the street from the State Capitol.

Members of the Committee on Rules and Administration are scheduled to meet Jan. 15 to consider design plans for the new legislative building, which would house many DFL and Republican lawmakers under one roof. Majority party committee chairs would still have offices in the Capitol. Senate Democrats have said the new building is needed to make up for the square footage lawmakers will lose once the renovation of the Capitol is complete.

“We plan to have a review of the new legislative building project from the design team and others, and our hope is to also have a vote that day,” said Amos Briggs, a spokesman for the Senate DFL caucus.

Lawmakers gave initial approval for the building in last session’s tax bill. The estimated $63 million price tag includes an underground parking facility. An additional parking ramp would be built down the street, bringing the total project cost to nearly $90 million.

The House Rules Committee must also take action before a bond sale and construction can proceed. House Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said last month that some committee members have concerns about the project. She said it was too early to know if it will get the needed votes.

House and Senate Republicans have criticized the building as unnecessary.

Former GOP legislator Jim Knoblach filed a lawsuit to try to halt the project. A Ramsey County court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.