Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
State Government & Tribal Relations Committee
HCR 4403
Brief Description: Renaming the Joel Pritchard State Library.
Sponsors: Representatives Tharinger, Steele, McClintock, Abbarno, Waters, Leavitt, Ormsby and Kloba.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Renames the "Joel Pritchard State Library" as the "Joel Pritchard Building."
  • Directs the Department of Enterprise Services to place the new name on the building.?
Hearing Date: 2/7/25
Staff: Connor Schiff (786-7093).
Background:

The state office building at 415 15th Avenue SW on the capitol campus in Olympia is known as the "Joel Pritchard State Library."?

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In 1958 the "Washington State Library Building" was built at 415 15th Avenue SW in Olympia to house the state library, which had outgrown its previous location in the basement of the Washington Supreme Court's "Temple of Justice."? In 1997 the Washington State Library Building was renamed the "Joel Pritchard State Library."? After serving as the state library for many years, the Joel Pritchard State Library has been used as an office building by the Legislature since 2001.? Over the years the building has been used for office space for the House of Representatives and their staff, the Code Reviser's Office, and other state support staff.? The building is now undergoing expansion and rehabilitation, including seismic stabilization of the building's adjacent steep hillside.? The building is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. ?

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Joel M. Pritchard served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives representing District 36 from 1959 to 1967, a member of the Washington Senate for District 36 from 1967 to 1971, a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Washington's District 1 from 1973 to 1985, and as the fourteenth Lieutenant Governor of Washington from 1989 to 1997.

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The Legislature is authorized to approve names for new and existing buildings on the capitol campus based on recommendations from the State Capitol Committee and the Director of the Department of Enterprise Services, with the advice of the Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee and subject to certain limitations.
Summary of Bill:

The "Joel Pritchard State Library" is renamed the "Joel Pritchard Building."? The Department of Enterprise Services is directed to place that name on the building.?
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on February 3, 2025.