Topeka — It has been said time and again that the nation changed Sept. 11. The Kansas Statehouse is no exception.
Those changes will be most evident to the legislators, lobbyists and visitors when the 2002 session begins Jan. 14.
Access has been restricted in the wake of the attacks that toppled the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon.
"What folks want to be is safe," House Speaker Kent Glasscock said. "Everybody is going to be more aware."
Everyone who works in the building not just Capitol security is supposed to be more aware of strange people or packages in strange places. Glasscock, R-Manhattan, said employees generally do feel safe in their surroundings, but extra caution was only natural given the nature of the terrorist attacks.
The Capitol Police, a division of the Kansas Highway Patrol, is continuing security measures that have been in place since just hours after the attacks.
Capt. Ray Gonzalez, the Capitol Police commander, said the safety of the more than 3,000 workers a number equivalent to the death toll of Sept. 11 work in the area known as the Capitol Complex. The complex comprises the Statehouse, the judicial center and three office buildings.
Senate President Dave Kerr, co-chairman of the Special Committee on Kansas Security, said he was not satisfied with the level of security in the Statehouse, but that changes were ongoing.
"The constant problem you have is balancing access and security," said Kerr, noting that the committee planned to meet Monday and Tuesday to make recommendations to the Legislature.
The 125 House members are required to wear ID badges as part of chamber rules and will continue. However, Kerr said no such ID badges are expected in the Senate, where the sergeant-at-arms is expected to know names and faces of all 40 members.
State employees have been wearing their photo IDs prominently since Sept. 11.
Legislators, lobbyists and visitors will find all but the east doors on the first level of the Statehouse are locked and accessible only by the ID cards. The goal is to control the flow of pedestrian traffic, Gonzalez said, and have a set of eyes on everyone.
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