by Darren Thornberry

The Colorado General Assembly is back in session and with it comes the opening of the dazzling new Legislative Council Resource Center. The remodeled space in the basement of the Capitol building consists of the Legislative Council Staff (LCS) front reception, the legislative library, and offices for up to four staff members.

Yes, the legislative library is still here! LCS staff maintain library services, including access to statutes, session laws, journals, and recordings of legislative hearings, and the office is open to all legislative staff and the public for legislative research.

The renovation of the space that was formerly the legislative library had two purposes: First, renovating the library space allowed LCS to consolidate two front-facing offices–the Joint Legislative Library and the LCS front office—to serve both purposes in one space. Now there is a streamlined entrance to LCS staff offices, and a single place for legislators and the public to access legislative resources and LCS staff. The second purpose was to renovate existing LCS office space to house the Office of Legislative Workplace Relations, which is now located in Room 026 in the north end of the Capitol basement.

A key renovation goal was to restore the space to the Capitol’s “Period of Significance,” which was established as 1904, when the Dome was first gilded with gold. A unique find during construction was a gallery/hallway similar to the open gallery that is on the 1st Floor directly above the renovated space.

The new Legislative Information Resource Center, located at the foot of the Capitol’s Grand Staircase in the basement, is a comfortable resource area for members of the legislature, legislative staff, and the public to easily access legislative resources and LCS staff.

L-R: Legislative Council’s Elizabeth Haskell, Elizabeth Burger, and Juanita Hill

Presently, because of the pandemic, members of the public are asked to call 303.866.3521 to make an appointment to use the library resources.