Capital security committee seeks more money.

Byline: Kevin Featherly

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in Minnesota Lawyer, a sister publication of Finance & Commerce.

The Advisory Committee on Capitol Area Security is asking the Legislature for $25 million for Capitol complex safety upgrades that were denied in the 2018 bonding bill.

Meanwhile, an Administration Department official told committee members last week, that agency is plowing ahead on the $10 million worth of security upgrades that did get funding.

The committee unanimously adopted its annual report to the Legislature on Dec. 18, which includes a recommendation for the additional funding. The request will face steep competition from state agencies, all of which must get their two-year budgets approved next year.

Chris Guevin, the department's facilities management director, gave committee members an update on the long-delayed project. Some of what he said was public. But after a short presentation, the meeting went into closed session and the project's details were discussed secretly.

What is known is that scaled-back security enhancements at nine locations on the Capitol complex were financed last session and are moving forward.

Specific enhancements are not being publicized. But Administration Department officials have said they involve things like attack-resistant bollards, bulletproof glass, security badge card readers and additional security kiosks and emergency call stations, among other improvements.

Guevin's agency, which functions as landlord and maintenance team for state-owned buildings, wanted $33.5 million in security upgrades spread across 13 locations in 2018. Less than one-third of that request came through.

Still, that was still something of a triumph. Two previous bonding requests for the same project one for $26.5 million in 2016 and a scaled-back $18.5 million request in 2017 were flatly rejected.

That doesn't mean officials aren't worried about skimping on safety. "The absence of full funding for the security upgrades leaves over half of the complex population and building square footage without programmed physical security improvements," the committee's report to the Legislature states.

The full 2018 request provided $24.4 million in bonds to finance security upgrades in the nine locations; of that total just $10 million 41 percent of that request was approved. Another $9.1 million general fund allocation sought for upgrades at four additional buildings was entirely denied.

Guevin told...