Capitol Annex Project
California’s State Capitol Complex is comprised of two sections, the original (1860-1874) west wing, rebuilt for earthquake safety and brought up to modern fire safety codes (1975-1982) and the attached State Capitol Building Annex (1949-1952) which adjoins the historic wing on its east side. California's 65-year old Annex, which is home to the Governor and 115 of California’s 120 lawmakers, as well as key legislative professional support offices, is among the state’s most-visited public buildings. In 2016, it had almost 2 million visitors, including tens of thousands of grade school children. As an aging building with failing systems built before the invention of a myriad of modern technologies, it presents the California State Senate and Assembly with the question of how to replace it with the best-adapted building imaginable.
In 2016, the Legislature passed SB 836 which was subsequently signed by the Governor. SB 836 provides funding for a project to address deficiencies in the existing State Capitol Building Annex, a specific building that is home to the Legislative Branch of California Government. The new annex project funding statute contemplates that as a precondition to its implementation, the Legislature must necessarily deliberate upon and make choices among possible alternatives as to the specifics of such a remedial project.
Relevant background work, research, and fact-finding which have been ongoing in preparation for the more formal engagement of design professionals and other experts who will assist in this project’s analysis, exploration of available options, eventual definition, and practical planning is available on the project’s website.
California State Archives
California's first legislature, meeting in 1849–50, charged the Secretary of State to receive "…all public records, registered maps, books, papers, rolls, documents and other writings… which appertain to or are in any way connected with the political history and past administration of the government of California." The Public Records Act (Chapter 1, Statutes of 1850 (PDF)) was the first law signed by California's first governor on January 5, 1850. The California State Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, continues to serve in the spirit of those early instructions, providing a repository for the state's permanent governmental records as well as other materials documenting California history. The California State Archives serves a wide variety of researchers whose interests range from legislative intent and public policy to genealogy and railroad history in California.
The California State Archives is the repository for the records of the Capitol Restoration Project (1975-1982) as well as the records of the Board of Capitol Commissioners, 1856-1911, which detail the construction of the State Capitol. Other State Archives holdings relating to the State Capitol include records of the Legislature and various state agencies.
California State Library
The California State Library serves the people of California in several ways, including being the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature, providing non-partisan research to the Legislature and the Governor, and collecting, preserving, generating and disseminating information ranging from California's priceless historical items to today's online texts.
California State Capitol Museum
At the State Capitol, the past, present and future of California interact with equal force. The building serves as both a museum and the state’s working seat of government. Visitors to the Capitol can experience California’s rich history and witness the making of history through the modern lawmaking process. While the entire building may be considered a museum, the heart of the Capitol Museum can be found on the basement and first floor of the original section of the building. In the basement can be found the tour office, a small theater showing several short films on the history of the Capitol, the gift shop, and the Arthur Mathews’ mural, the "History of California." On the first floor, visitors can tour restored historic offices, as well as two rotating exhibit rooms. The museum offers self-guided and guided tours (normally on the hour), and an opportunity to see the legislature at work when it is in session.
Department of General Services
The Department of General Services (DGS) serves as business manager for the state of California. General Services helps to better serve the public by providing a variety of services to state agencies through procurement and acquisition solutions, real estate management and design, environmentally friendly transportation, professional printing, design and web services, administrative hearings, legal services, building standards, oversight of structural safety, fire/life safety and accessibility for the design and construction of K-12 public schools and community colleges, and funding for school construction.
Under authority of the Joint Rules Committee, the Department of General Services (DGS) maintains the state buildings and grounds at Sacramento’s 40-acre Capitol Park. The property encompasses the park itself, as well as the State Capitol, Insectary, Treasurer’s Building and Library and Courts Building, and is bounded by 9th, 15th, L and N Streets. DGS oversees all park maintenance including planting, irrigation, trimming and removal of trees and plants; installation of paving stones, benches and other decorative elements; and the installation, maintenance and repair of memorials throughout the park.