Building a Bigger Legislature

Today's New Haven Register reports that the Connecticut General Assembly is preparing to spend $5 million on the first significant addition to the Legislative Office Building, which houses legislative and staff offices next to the Capitol in Hartford.

Completed in 1987, the Legislative Office Building is a massive political rabbit hutch, where the likes of Jim Amann and Don Williams, special interests, and staffers sniff each other's butts, and then hump out a deal... figuratively of course, unless you are Senator Tom Gaffey.

A one-story addition is in the works to add cafeteria space, capitol police offices, public bathrooms and loading docks. Interestingly enough, the original design of the building could hold five additional stories.

In only ten years, the General Assembly staff has burgeoned over 33%. Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney is cited as having said that the growth and expansion has always been to make the legislature a "co-equal" branch of government.

The first step in making the legislature more equal with Governor Rell apparently starts with a bigger cafeteria and more toilets.