Nov. 20, 2000-- The threat of earthquakes and the memory of last year's tornado is putting new energy behind an old idea.

A strong move is afoot to make Utah's State Capitol Building safe for people who go inside.

News Specialist John Hollenhorst reports from Capitol Hill.

It would cost about $200-million to make it safe. Not counting the cost of building new offices for hundreds of Capitol workers to use during the renovation.

It's a hefty price tag. But some say the state can't afford not to do it.

A poll once rated this the second most beautiful capitol in the nation. But it's also distinctly vulnerable to sudden destruction, as a scale model demonstration suggests.

Even a moderate earthquake can get the building swaying violently. A big one can shake it to pieces, because it's pieces right now are held together only by their own weight.

Animation, which is exagerrated to show the effect, reveals a fundamental problem. The higher parts of the building amplify the ground motion, and sway much more than the base. That makes the dome especially vulnerable.

REP. RAY SHORT/HOLLADAY: "IF THE DOME CAME DOWN AND THOSE MARBLE COLUMNS CAME DOWN, WE'RE INTO A DISASTER, RIGHT OFF THE BAT."

Lame duck lawmaker Ray Short is leading the fight to finally get something done. He wants a major fix for a monumental problem, by perching the Capitol Building on top of so-called base-isolators.

It's a sort of shock absorber that allows the building to move sideways, while minimizing the high-level swaying that would tend to pull the building apart.

REP. RAY SHORT/HOLLADAY: "IT'S A NEW SYSTEM THAT WILL ACTUALLY ALLOW THE BUILDING TO MOVE THREE FEET IN ANY DIRECTION, AND COME BACK TO WHERE IT WAS." Q: "WITHOUT FALLING DOWN?" A: "WITHOUT FALLING DOWN. YOU KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE SOME MINOR DAMAGE. BUT AT LEAST THE WHOLE STRUCTURE WILL STAY THERE. "

And while we're at it, he says, it's time to fix the Capitol's aging innards as well.

REP. RAY SHORT/HOLLADAY: "SO WE GOT THE MECHANICAL, THE ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING ARE ALL AFTER 85 YEARS IN DIRE NEEDS. AND YOU CAN'T SEE THAT. IT REALLY IS PRETTY GOOD LOOKING. BUT INSIDE, IT'S IN TROUBLE."

It's an open question whether the upcoming session of the legislature will get moving on the project. It's a very big price tag, and many other state buildings need major money, too.