Construction of the new Alabama State House is on schedule with work now happening on the fourth floor of the structure taking shape behind the current legislative building.
House Speaker Pro Tem Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, said the committee rooms in the new State House will be larger and all will be equipped with live-streaming capabilities.
“No more committee meetings that you can’t sit anywhere in the state, anywhere in the world and watch,” said Pringle, co-chair of the Legislative Council, the body of lawmakers with authority over the new building.
Currently, room 200 in the existing State House is the largest. But it has its limitations, Pringle said.
“When you’re presiding, you’re looking at the back of other lawmakers’ chairs,” he said. “The new daises are going to be U-shaped, so every member can see other members. They’re going to be raised so people in the audience can see everybody.”
He estimated there will be two 250-capacity rooms, a few with room for 100 people and others with 75-person capacity, but those numbers aren’t solid yet.
“Everything is going to be open for the public to come watch in a building that can hold people,” Pringle said. “How many times have you tried to get into a committee meeting but couldn’t because there weren’t enough seats?
“We’ve been squeezing into a building that was never designed for us or the public.”
The Retirement Systems of Alabama is building the new State House and the Legislature will lease it. It’s expected to cost about $350 million and RSA will get an 8% return. Separately, the Legislature will build a new parking deck underground and with about 500 spaces near the Folsom Administrative Building — that area is currently a staff parking lot — and the green space. Those are expected to cost another $50 million. Construction of that parking deck is set to begin in the spring.
A smaller parking deck will be included in the new State House, but that will only be large enough for members and a few staffers.
The building is slated for completion in late 2026 and lawmakers will gavel in for the first time to start their 2027 session.