Governor continues push to repair Oklahoma Capitol

Fallin told editors and publishers she is concerned about safety issues in the nearly 100-year-old building.

Many of them went on a tour of the Capitol where they were told that much of the electrical wiring is outdated and the plumbing system is failing.

“Sometimes you walk in the basement of the Capitol, you'll smell sewer,” she said. “There are challenges with that leaking under the Capitol itself.”

Those attending a House of Representatives committee meeting this week had to evacuate a meeting room when smoke from an overheated air-conditioning fan drifted into the vents and filled an overflow room with smoke. While there was no fire and the incident was not directly related to the Capitol's electrical wiring, it did show how easily lawmakers, workers and visitors could be trapped if a serious fire occurred.

As many as 700 people, which includes legislators, work in the Capitol during the four-month legislative session.

Fallin said after her speech that delaying repairs could result in a serious health or safety issue that could result in part of the building having to be closed.

“It would not be good to shut down the Capitol because it's the seat of government; it's the place of business for many different agencies government functions are run out of; and certainly the Legislature has to be in session,” she said. “But I would say that we're putting ourselves at risk by not taking care of these issues if we should have a major hazard. If the sewer system should all of a sudden break down throughout the Capitol, that obviously would be a crisis that we would have to deal with, and it could be very disruptive to government.”

During her State of the State speech Monday to lawmakers that began this year's session, Fallin proposed the Legislature appropriate $10 million immediately for the Capitol. She is seeking $8 million to repair the exterior of the Capitol and another $2 million to develop a plan to repair and renovate the rest of the building.