OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's nearly 100-year-old Capitol could receive a $160 million face lift under a measure given final approval by the Oklahoma Senate.
The bill approved 36-11 on Thursday authorizes a state bond issue to pay for the repairs, a financing method that is expected to face stiff resistance in the increasingly conservative House.
Several Democrats questioned why Senate leaders didn't consider tapping the state's Rainy Day Fund, which currently has a balance of $535 million.
Oklahoma City Republican Sen. Greg Treat says authorizing a bond issue is a fiscally responsible way to pay for the badly needed repairs.
Yellow barricades have been erected in front of the building to prevent pedestrians from nearing where chunks of limestone have fallen from the building's facade.