The Capitol’s Eden

Walk away from the state Capitol and you enter a different world these final days of the 1999 legislative session. Inside, the historic structure is an anthill of activity--argument, contention, negotiation, wheedling and horse trading. There are blizzards of paper and electronic communications--amendments, conference committee reports, roll calls and committee analyses. Bills are worfed--taken up Without Reference to File--a shortcut around bothersome rules. Dark-suited lobbyists wielding cell phones form a scrum outside the chambers, vying for a chance to grab a lawmaker and win a vote.

What a contrast to the pace out in Capitol Park on a bucolic day when the sky is blue, the breeze light and the temperature 82 degrees, eight below normal for Sacramento this time of year. Better yet, the tension level is about zero. Tourists stroll the 40 acres amid more than 450 varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers. Here and there, a state worker eats a sandwich on the lawn. Kids chase the squirrels, one of which scampers proudly away with a partly eaten ear of corn.

The original Capitol, which was opened in 1869 and restored in 1976-82, faces west toward the Sacramento River. The greater part of the park, however, is on the east, adjoining the 1950s annex that houses offices of the governor and the 120 legislators.

The open, unfenced area is four blocks long and two wide and ringed by Mexican fan palms. Benches are scattered about, more than enough for park visitors. There are little nooks for sitting, chatting, reading or just contemplating. One refuge is just off the north entrance of the Capitol annex and not far from busy L Street. Ringed by coast redwoods, it’s a haven of solace even on the capital’s hottest days. Another is near the Spanish-American War memorial, with its waterfall, ferns and trout pond. The benches there are shaded by a giant Montezuma cypress and a linden tree.

Just as Sacramento’s summer has been blessedly cooler than normal, the pace inside the Capitol has been less frantic than in recent years. There’s a different rhythm in part because the Democrats control both the Legislature and the executive branch. Lawmakers and Gov. Gray Davis have their differences, but there has been far less public confrontation than when Republican Pete Wilson was governor.

Then, too, the Legislature and Davis completed the state budget before the July 1 start of the fiscal year. In previous years, the budget battle dragged on into August and even September, and nearly every major issue was inextricably tied to it. The stalemates wiped out the legislators’ July vacation, increasing fatigue and tension.

Even this year, of course, there are important matters to be worked out as the session moves toward its end, on Friday: health care, Indian gambling and infrastructure finance among them. And with hundreds of bills still competing for attention, confrontation and rising tempers lurk. If the heat inside nears the boiling point, there’s a solution. Go for a walk in Capitol Park.