Description
As lawmakers head into the final week of the legislative session, negotiating a balanced two-year budget will be the focus. However, a bill that would shed light on legislators is also up for debate.
A proposal to restore skylights above the floor of the House and Senate chambers was part of the Senate’s construction budget, but not the House’s. Democratic Sen. Sam Hunt proposed spending $7.2 million over the next two years to begin the restoration project.
“It would be a real asset to the building and our state Capitol,” said Hunt.
When the Capitol opened in 1928 the House and Senate had glass skylights - 25 feet by 25 feet - over the respective chambers.
The glass was replaced and the openings covered with metal in the 1970s over safety and efficiency concerns, according to a 2017 state-funded study into the potential restoration.
Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/olympia/funding-capitol-skylights/281-3fd1d552-e318-4379-a6f7-cf6fe383f5fa