Legislative Council Bureau asks for $233.4 million to repair Capitol, build staff offices and parking garage

The Legislative Council Bureau on Monday asked lawmakers on joint subcommittees of the Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees to include a $233.4 million capital improvement package to repair and modernize the state's legislative campus, bureau leaders said at a committee hearing.

"The CIP plan is more than just about maintaining our facilities. It's also about making the necessary investments today to guarantee that this building and campus will be capable of supporting legislative work for decades and generations to come," Diane Thornton, acting director of the Legislative Council Bureau, told the committee during a presentation on one-time appropriations and capital projects.

The proposal bundles building repairs, a new staff office building, a parking structure and technology upgrades aimed at addressing what bureau staff described as long-standing safety and operational risks in aging facilities and systems.

Why it matters: bureau presenters described the original Legislative Building and the state printing office as mid-20th-century structures with HVAC, electrical and fire-suppression systems that have reached the end of their useful lives. The presentation warned that a continued delay in upgrades could threaten continuity of government and increase the risk of major operational failures during session.

Key requests and scope

Diane Thornton said the total package being presented was $233,400,000. The operations portion alone was shown at $228,000,000. The bureau's request includes: - Renovation, asbestos abatement and seismic retrofitting of the original Legislative Building (about 50,000 square feet) and the state printing office (about 57,000 square feet). - Demolition of the Sedway Building (currently about 34,000 square feet) and construction of a new, roughly 100,000-square-foot staff office building to house displaced divisions and provide modern workspaces. - Construction of a parking structure with nearly 600 spaces. - IT and telecommunications modernization, including plans to replace an aging legislative software called "session manager" and to update servers, phone systems and network resiliency.

Safety and asset condition

Jonathan Vietti, chief of operations for the bureau, described structural and life-safety issues that, in his words, require immediate attention. "These systems are about 55 years old," Vietti said of the facility electrical and HVAC systems, documenting end-of-life equipment, obsolete switchgear and ductwork containing asbestos tape.

Vietti said seismic retrofitting is necessary because the buildings predate modern seismic codes and Nevada ranks high for seismic activity. He also said several committee rooms and chambers currently lack fire suppression and contain substantial asbestos, and that completing some projects will require relocating staff while abatement and retrofit work take place.

Technology and continuity-of-government risks

Patrick Guinan, deputy director, and Tyler Sailor, the bureau's chief information officer, detailed technology risks. Guinan said the legislature relies on a "30 year old program called the session manager" and described it as "at the end of its life." Sailor said many servers and other hardware supporting core applications are beyond typical vendor support windows and that failures could cause multi-day outages. "If we push it out, we risk failures that could take down session manager, our websites, or even lead to long recovery times," Sailor told the committee.

Costs, alternatives and site work

Thornton and Vietti discussed alternatives and past studies. Thornton said renovating the Sedway Building was estimated at about $16.3 million, with another roughly $2 million to infill the atrium if desired. She said building an additional smaller office (about 60,000 square feet) would cost roughly $76 million, which together with Sedway renovation would leave the state operating two buildings at an estimated combined cost of about $92 million; by contrast, she said, a new 100,000-square-foot building would cost about $116 million.

Vietti said the parking structure would include space for maintenance equipment and a facilities shop and that the garage would be a public facility available year-round. The bureau is planning 20 to 40 electric-vehicle charging stations in the new garage, per Vietti.

Phasing, schedule and contingencies

Bureau staff said work would be phased to minimize disruption during session: some renovations would be timed for interim periods and staff would be relocated to the new annex building so that asbestos abatement and seismic retrofitting could proceed in vacated areas. Vietti said geotechnical borings were scheduled within weeks to assess soils and groundwater conditions before finalizing designs for a multi-story structure on the site.

Lawmakers' concerns and follow-ups

Committee members asked about leasing versus building, parking capacity, EV charging, security of off-site leased space, cost comparisons and how a special session would be handled during construction. Thornton said leasing was considered but raised concerns about proximity to legislators, security for confidential documents and cybersecurity across multiple locations. On the question of how to hold a special session if construction prevented use of chambers, Thornton said Room 3100 (the recently opened West Entry room) could house a committee of the whole and that the bureau has schematics to use it as a contingency space.

No formal action taken

The hearing was a presentation and question-and-answer session; no vote or formal committee action on the funding request occurred during the meeting. After the presentation and a round of questions, the committee opened public comment lines and received no callers before adjourning.

Ending

Bureau staff closed by saying they stand ready to supply follow-up information requested by lawmakers, including exact office counts, final geotechnical findings and completed cost breakdowns as designs are refined. "We stand ready for any questions," Diane Thornton said at the close of the presentation.