Oklahoma Hopes to Avoid ‘Demolition by Neglect’ for Its Capitol
Oklahoma's State Capitol is deteriorating, but a plan to fund repair work is being challenged as unconstitutional. Oklahoma OEMS / YouTube
But there’s a legal challenge on whether a plan to repair the Sooner State’s deteriorating seat of government is constitutional.
The Oklahoma State Capitol building is crumbling. Nearly a century of extreme temperatures, water infiltration and botched repair work has taken its toll on the Indiana limestone exterior. Steel anchors have corroded. Chunks of limestone have fractured and fallen to the ground.
The Capitol’s steady deterioration is only expected to get worse.
“If we don’t undertake some major restoration and repair work we could undergo what we call ‘demolition by neglect,’” State Capitol Project Manager Trait Thompson says in a recent Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services video outlining the Capitol’s current predicament and plans to repair and restore the exterior.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers approved a $120 million bond to fund repair work, a measure that was OK’d by Gov. Mary Fallin.
Major repair work is expected to start next spring. But there’s a legal obstacle.
An attorney with a history of challenging state laws he feels are unconstitutional believes that the state has erred with House Joint Resolution 1033, the law authorizing the bond. According to the lawyer’s argument, as a “special law,” it wasn’t published in a newspaper for four consecutive weeks before it was considered as required under the state constitution, The Oklahoman reported in September.
“When you have a special law, you must have a statewide publication in a statewide newspaper upon introduction of the bill,” the attorney, Jerry Fent, told The Journal Record. “They did not do that.”
The state asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to affirm the measure’s constitutionality. Oral arguments were scheduled to take place on Tuesday before a court referee, who, according to The Associated Press, “will compile a report and forward it to the full court.”
An example of the corrosion at the Oklahoma State Capitol (Image via Oklahoma OEMS / YouTube)