Good news! The Brown administration has raised the prospect of tearing down the Capitol Annex – the six-story building that houses the governor’s office and various legislative offices, on the east side of the Capitol complex.
But what should go in its place? That would have to be worked out between the governor and the legislature. Current options include building a new building on a nearby parking lot while renovating the annex, or building a new office building in Capitol Park.
I’m for building as many buildings, and as big buildings as possible. Because what matters is that a new or renovated Capitol Annex be big enough to hold what California really needs: A bigger legislature.
It’s only fair: if taxpayers are going to pay for new offices for people in the Capitol, we ought to get more representation in the deal. More representation is overdue. California offers the least legislative representation to its citizens of any American state. Our legislators represent three times as many people as legislators in any other state—and 10 times more than the national average.
So why not use an expanded Annex, or a new building across the street, to create enough space for all the offices of an expanded legislature? I’m not suggesting, as a recent ballot initiative proposal did, a 10,000-member legislature. But one three times the size – 360 people – could be accommodated with thoughtful renovations.
(While I’ve long sought a larger legislature, I can’t say the idea of using the annex expansion to force the issue is mine. An alert reader of my column suggested it).
The trouble is that those currently in the legislature may not want new colleagues, and they’ll get to decide. And the administration’s argument for a new annex is not about accommodating more representation but about updating an old building to handle the people who visit the Capitol.
That’s not a good enough reason. It ought to be a condition of a new Annex: no renovation without representation!