Group that maintains Statehouse requests $2.3 million

The chairman of the Idaho Capitol Commission that maintains the Statehouse says the building that opened in 1912 has amazing bones but needs some occasional upkeep.

Andrew Erstad on Wednesday requested authorization from the Legislature’s budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Commission to spend $2.3 million in fiscal year 2020.

That’s the same amount as the previous year and what Gov. Brad Little is recommending.

The commission gets its money from 7,200 acres of state-owned endowment land that is 90 percent forested. Erstad’s request to the budget committee is to authorize spending money generated from those lands.

The 200,000-square-foot building houses the governor’s office and is where the House and Senate meet.

Lawmakers will decide on the budget request in the coming weeks.