Legislators will get $745 chairs

Friday, Jan. 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- One of the many things that stand out in the $19 million remodeling and expansion of the legislative building is the fancy new high-back, red leather chairs in the Senate and Assembly chambers and in all the committee rooms.

Each cost $745 and more than 200 were purchased.

"You can't get a cheaper chair than that," said Loren Malkiewich, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

He and Deputy Director Steve Watson said Thursday the chairs were purchased at manufacturer's price.

Assembly Chief Clerk Linda Alden quipped, "There's not a Chippendale in the building," referring to the Chippendale chairs purchased by the Nevada Supreme Court for its new building in 1992. Those cost $800 each. And that caused a stir and criticism by some legislators.

Watson said these new leather chairs replace the ones in the chambers that have been used since 1971. The original ones were recovered once using prison labor.

Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, who headed the oversight committee on the expansion and remodeling, agreed the chairs are expensive. But he said there would be savings to the public in the long run.

"We could buy new chairs every year and end up paying $2,000 (per legislative chair) or we can pay $700 and have them last 20 years," he said.

"Everything in the building is designed to last 25-30 years before we have to redo it again," Townsend said. Asked if he had that expensive a chair in his office at the Lexus dealership in Reno, Townsend said, "I'd hate to tell you the price," but indicated his work chair cost around $700.

Legislators spend a lot of time sitting during the Legislature, Townsend noted. "They are expensive chairs, but they will last a long time."

Most state agencies purchase their equipment through a Corporate Express catalog. It's top-of-the-line chair is a La-Z Boy with a cloth cover costing $748. But the agencies receive a 30-35 percent discount. So the cost of that chair would be $524. A high-back, black leather chair, called an "Executive Leather Seat," costs $368 in the catalog.

Most chairs purchased by state agencies for those with desk jobs are lower cost items.