(Radio Iowa) – The resolution of a disagreement between Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate means five million dollars in state gambling taxes will be used to complete renovations of the Lucas State Office Building. The building, which opened in 1952, is east of the Iowa Capitol. Republican Representative Jacob Bossman of Sioux City says the original plan House Republicans developed for spending gambling taxes did not include funding for the Lucas Building upgrades, while Senate Republicans suggested spending 10 million dollars on the building.

“We originally weren’t funding that project,” Bossman says, “but are acknowledging this money is necessary to complete the DHHS merger and allow everybody to be housed under one roof.”

In 2022, lawmakers approved the governor’s plan to merge the Departments of Human Services and Public Health — but the agencies were housed in two different state office buildings. The Department of Health and Human Services is the largest agency in state government, with over five-thousand employees. The Lucas building has six floors of office space and is named for Iowa’s first territorial governor, Robert Lucas.