© 2024 KGOU
News and Music for Oklahoma
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Oklahoma Capitol Could Receive $160M Face Lift

Barricades surround the south steps of the Oklahoma Capitol.
Meghan Blessing
/
KGOU

Oklahoma's nearly 100-year-old Capitol could receive a $160 million face lift under a measure given final approval by the Oklahoma Senate.

The bill approved 36-11 on Thursday authorizes a state bond issue to pay for the repairs, a financing method that is expected to face stiff resistance in the increasingly conservative House.

Several Democrats questioned why Senate leaders didn't consider tapping the state's Rainy Day Fund, which currently has a balance of $535 million.

Oklahoma City Republican Sen. Greg Treat says authorizing a bond issue is a fiscally responsible way to pay for the badly needed repairs.

Yellow barricades have been erected in front of the building to prevent pedestrians from nearing where chunks of limestone have fallen from the building's facade.

---------------------

KGOU produces journalism in the public interest, essential to an informed electorate. Help support informative, in-depth journalism with a donation online, or contact our Membership department.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
More News
Support nonprofit, public service journalism you trust. Give now.