Paul Thissen Minnesota District 618 Hennepin County House of September 28,2015, Representatives ‘The Honorable Kurt Daud Speaker ofthe House 463 State Office Building St.Paul, MN 55155, ‘ear Speaker Daud ‘As we look forward to the 2016 lessative session, many of my colleagues ad | are becoming increasingly ‘concerned about the decisions made regarding ou facies and the ramifications of those decision for not only legislators and our staff but the public as wel ‘On March 25 ofthis year, epresentatives of. Ounn Construction provided a letter to members ofthe House detaling the costs associate with using the House chamber during the 2016 legislative session and outinng the ‘many issues that would confront usin ding so, Not only was this among themost expensive of the options vallabe to us, atan estimated cost to taxpayers of ‘$500,000, but twas als cles that using the House chambee would mean significant inconveniences for legislators and staff as wel as forthe hundreds of construction workers who are apart ofthe ongoing Capitol renovations. ‘More importantly, however, the choice to remain in the House chamber in 2016 will mean extreme limitations ‘on the public's ably to access thelr government. There wil be no access tothe third floor House gallery, there will be no operating restrooms or cunning water inthe Capitol - which willbe an active construction zone, ‘making it publi safety concern as well~and there wil be litle to no public space avaiable to individual or {groups Seeking to hold events or connect with thellegllatorson the issues important to them. Itdide’t have tobe this way. ther options were avallble tous atthe time that Would have both saved taxpayer ‘money and ensured public access to legislators throughout the Sesion Its hard to imagine what reason there ‘would have been to forgo these less expensive options, especially given the information avaiable atthe time Wiile it maybe too ate to save taxpayer dollars given the amount of planning and preparation that has gone Into forcing the House chamter to remain open next year, | am writing today to encourage you to look again at ‘other options forthe 2026 legislative session that wil at east provide the public with some measure of access to “their elected representativesand the legislative process. “Thank you for your attention to this important mater Wouse OF Leader {427 Fremont 6 Mnsapa, MN 8419 ‘Sie One Buldng, 20 ar Dr arin her King J le St. Pu Moana S588-1258 6s) 255.5075 & AXES) 2079805 Ena rep. pautieenthoaia