The Rotunda, The Treasurer's Office, and Legislative Services
As you step into the center of the rotunda, look up into the dome. You will see thirteen large stars which represent the thirteen original colonies. You will also see forty-three smaller stars representing Idaho's admission as the forty-third state in the Union.
The Treasurer's Office is on the east side. The original vault of maganese steel made in 1905 is still used today.
Legislative Services is a nonpartisan support staff for the Legislature. This support staff drafts legislation, conducts bill research, financial compliance audits, and supports the infrastructure of technology.
There is an elevator located outside the Legislative Reference Library. This private elevator transported judges to the to the third floor, The Idaho Supreme Court Chamber, which is now JFAC, the Joint Finance Appropriation Committee.
Executive Branch
The Governor's offices is located in the west wing. In 1911, the Legislature commissioned artist Herbert Collins to paint portraits of Idaho's territorial and state governors. The portraits and all the governors who have served since are hung along the walls adjacent to the Governor's offices.
The second floor also has the Attorney General on the north side of the building, and to the east wing is the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State. The official copy of the Great Seal of the State of Idaho is kept in the Secretary of State's office.
House and Senate Chambers and The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC)
The Idaho Legislature meets annually in sessions that typically last from January through March. The Idaho House of Representatives, located in the east wing, includes seventy members, two from each legislative district. The blue color scheme mimics the U.S. Capitol. The Senate has thirty-five members, and is located in the west wing. The Senate president is the Lieutenant Governor who votes only to break a tie. The color scheme is red which also mimics the U.S. Capitol.
JFAC is located at the north end of the floor. It used to used by the former Supreme Court as the light fixtures still symbolize the "torches of justice". JFAC is composed of ten members of the House of Representatives and ten members of the Senate. JFAC sets the state's budget. The Supreme Court moved in 1970 to a new building on Fifth and State.
Public Galleries
The fourth floor holds the public galleries for the Senate and House. There are two statues located on the south side of rotunda and flank the entrance to Statuary Hall. The George Washington Statue, carved from a single piece of pine by the Austrian immigrant, Charles Ostner, and the other statue is a replica of Winged Victory of Samothrace.The original statue was sculpted about 400-300 BC on Samothrace, an island in the Aegean Sea. The original is currently in the Louvre Museum in France, but it was lost for centuries before being rediscovered in 1863. The statue was a "thank you" from France in 1949. Boxcars filled with gifts from the people of France were sent to the capital cities of each state and, the replica was in Idaho's boxcar.
Statuary Hall is a beautiful hall with a barrel ceiling. It is an example of the "white light of conscience" that John E. Tourtellotte was trying to capture in his design.
