HB 23: "An Act relating to construction of a legislative hall."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 23 01 "An Act relating to construction of a legislative hall." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 04 to read: 05 FINDINGS. (a) The legislature finds that ground was broken for the capitol building 06 by Governor George A. Parks on September 18, 1929, and the building was completed in 07 1931. The capitol building currently houses offices of the governor, the lieutenant governor, 08 and the legislature. 09 (b) The legislature finds that over the years the capitol building maintenance staff has 10 provided valiant efforts to bring the building into the 21st century and accommodate emerging 11 technology, but that there is only so much that can be done to address major problems. In 12 1998, the fire chief for the capital city inspected the building and prepared a report identifying 13 problems. Some of the items were minor and were addressed, but major problems with the 14 corridors cannot be solved. Corridors need to be unobstructed, but, because office space is 15 limited, the corridors are filled with chairs, benches, and other furniture, as well as photocopy
01 machines. A fire protection corridor that allows safe exiting of occupants, free from smoke, is 02 now a fundamental life safety requirement for office buildings that the capitol building cannot 03 meet. While an automatic sprinkler system and new door system are mitigating measures, 04 these would not correct the path of travel because of structural deficiencies. 05 (c) The legislature finds that the following items are also of concern: 06 (1) corridor length; there are many corridors that are long "shotgun" type 07 corridors that do not meet the current fire and safety building codes; 08 (2) space; the space in most offices does not meet the minimum requirements 09 for the number of occupants, and most existing office configurations are inefficient; 10 (3) access; the building has many rooms that do not meet the requirements for 11 ingress and egress under 42 U.S.C. 12101 - 12213 (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), 12 thereby possibly endangering the health, life, and safety of employees working in the building 13 and visitors to the building; 14 (4) lack of amenities; there is inadequate parking for the building, no public 15 lounge or food service facilities, and limited space for shared equipment, such as copy 16 machines; 17 (5) chamber space; both chambers and the public galleries are too small; 18 (6) committee space; committee rooms are too small to accommodate 19 members of the legislature and the public who wish to attend meetings; 20 (7) electrical and telecommunication services; the wiring is inadequate; 21 (8) heating and ventilating; the heating system is antiquated, and there is no air 22 conditioning or proper ventilating system in the building since opening windows does not 23 always provide cross circulation. 24 (d) The legislature finds that the capitol building has outlived its usefulness as a 25 legislative hall. 26 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 27 read: 28 SPECIFICATIONS FOR A LEGISLATIVE HALL. (a) The Alaska Legislative 29 Council shall develop specifications for construction of a new legislative hall and make those 30 specifications available to legislators and members of the public by December 15, 2005. The 31 specifications must include a method under which the aesthetic appeal of the building will be
01 considered. The legislative hall must meet all fire and building codes, including requirements 02 of 42 U.S.C. 12101 - 12213 (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990), and meet the highest 03 construction and geotechnical engineering standards. The building must contain adequate 04 heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, with individual controls for each system. 05 The building must be configured so that office walls are not load bearing. All office rooms 06 must be wired for computer service, telephone service, fax machines, copy machines, cable 07 television, and security cameras. Capacity for additional wiring in the entire building must be 08 provided for. The specifications must provide for at least the following space: 09 (1) a private office for each legislator and that legislator's staff, with the 10 offices for the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate to be 11 larger than other legislators' offices; 12 (2) a chamber room for each body of the legislature, each with electronic 13 voting boards and other appropriate equipment and with galleries that accommodate at least 14 150 people in addition to the media; 15 (3) a private lounge for legislators located on the same floor as the chambers, 16 with cooking facilities; 17 (4) 18 committee rooms, each with space for committee staff, 11 committee 18 members, and at least 75 members of the public; 19 (5) a suite of office space for use by the governor, the lieutenant governor, and 20 commissioners or other executive branch staff when they visit the legislative hall; 21 (6) one courtroom and adequate offices for judicial officers of the supreme 22 court and staff; 23 (7) at least one photocopy services room on each floor large enough for at 24 least one photocopier, photocopy and other supplies, and user; 25 (8) a public lounge and restaurant; 26 (9) rooms for security staff, documents, and supplies; 27 (10) office space for each agency of the legislative branch that the legislative 28 council determines should be located with the legislature; 29 (11) office space for the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of 30 representatives; 31 (12) a print shop;
01 (13) a maintenance shop; 02 (14) a media office; 03 (15) an area adequate for electronic technology and telecommunications 04 equipment and cabling; 05 (16) a rotunda or atrium of sufficient size for public meetings, celebrations, 06 and events; 07 (17) facilities for the display of Alaska historical exhibits and artifacts; 08 (18) a documents room; 09 (19) a press room with space to rent to press groups; 10 (20) adequate and efficient restrooms on each floor that exceed current code 11 requirements. 12 (b) The specifications prepared by the legislative council must address parking and 13 must include at least the following: 14 (1) covered parking for at least 75 vehicles on the site of the legislative hall; 15 (2) parking for at least 300 vehicles on the site of the legislative hall or 16 adjacent to the site; 17 (3) covered walkways from the parking areas required under (1) and (2) of this 18 subsection to the legislative hall; and 19 (4) parking areas for an additional 150 vehicles near the site of the legislative 20 hall. 21 (c) Total parking provided for under (b)(2) and (4) of this section must equal or 22 exceed the amount specified in the edition of the Uniform Building Code that is current on the 23 date specifications are completed. 24 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 25 read: 26 PROPOSALS FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HALL. Upon completion of the 27 specifications, the Alaska Legislative Council shall solicit proposals for construction of the 28 legislative hall to be operated, maintained, repaired, and managed by the legislative council 29 for use by the legislature as the location for regular and special sessions and for interim work. 30 Proposals may be submitted by boroughs or unified municipalities with at least 30,000 31 residents. Proposals must include details regarding the financing of the project and terms on
01 which the project site and completed legislative hall will be made available to the legislature. 02 A proposal may not require lease payments by the legislature in excess of $1 a year or provide 03 for a project completion date that is later than June 30, 2008. In evaluating each proposal, the 04 legislative council shall consider whether the proposed site 05 (1) has basic utility services; 06 (2) has adequate airport access; 07 (3) has adequate road access or at least weekly ferry service during winter 08 months; 09 (4) is in an area with adequate health, education, and social services facilities 10 and adequate housing opportunities. 11 * Sec. 4. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 12 read: 13 SELECTION OF A PROPOSAL. The Alaska Legislative Council shall review all 14 proposals, conduct inspection, and select a proposal or reject all proposals by June 30, 2006. 15 If a proposal is selected, the legislative council shall enter into contracts, leases, and other 16 agreements necessary to carry out the terms of the proposal. If the proposal selected includes 17 a site wholly or partially on state land, the legislative council shall take all action necessary to 18 arrange for the transfer of the land to the municipality at no cost, including the introduction of 19 legislation to accomplish that purpose. The contract procedures adopted by the legislative 20 council under AS 36.30.020 do not apply to the selection of a proposal under this section or to 21 a contract, lease, or other agreement entered into by the committee under this section. 22 AS 35.05.010 does not apply to planning for or construction of a legislative hall under this 23 Act. 24 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 25 read: 26 TRANSITION. Notwithstanding AS 24.05.090 and other provisions of law, if a 27 legislative hall is constructed under this Act, beginning with the First Regular Session of the 28 Twenty-Sixth Alaska State Legislature and during each session thereafter, the legislature shall 29 convene in that legislative hall. The revisor of statutes shall prepare a bill and submit it to the 30 Alaska Legislative Council making all changes to statutes necessary to conform to this 31 section.