BOISE -- Capitol renovations aren't yet complete, but a dustup has already erupted over a new rule limiting public exhibitions to a single floor.
The Idaho Capitol Commission, which oversees the century-old building, voted in August to restrict events to the fourth floor once it reopens Jan. 9 after two years and $122 million in taxpayer-funded expense.
The rule is meant to protect the building from activities that might damage the structure.
But Buy Idaho, a nonprofit group with 1,100 members, normally spreads out on three rotunda floors for its annual display of Gem State goods and services.
Director Dale Peterson says being banished to one floor will hamper spreading the word about Idaho products to lawmakers, something he finds especially galling amid the deepest recession in decades.
The Legislature is now intervening and hopes to settle the dispute at a Capitol Commission meeting next week.
