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The first Capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama was built in 1847, and was destroyed by fire in 1849. The current State Capitol was built on the previous Capitol's foundations, and was completed in 1851. The building has grown over time with an east wing added to the buildings rear in 1885, a south wing in 1906, a matching north wing in 1912, and along with a complete renovation to the whole building a modern addition to the rear in 1992. The building served as home to the Alabama Legislature until 1985, when it moved to the Alabama State House (formerly the State Highway Department Building). Officially, this move is "temporary", since the Alabama Constitution requires that the Legislature meet in the Capitol. In 1984, a constitutional amendment was passed that allowed the Legislature to move to another building if the Capitol were to be renovated. The renovation started in 1985 and was completed in 1992 and upon the reopening of the building, the Governor of Alabama and numerous other state offices moved back into the building, but the Legislature remained at the State House, and has made no plans to return to the Capitol Building. The areas that are open for tourists are the entry foyer with twin opposing cantilever stairwells, the old Governors Office, the old State Supreme Court and the old Supreme Court Library, the Rotunda, the old House of Representatives, and the old Senate Chamber. If a convention is held to reform the current state constitution, the House of Representatives chamber has been suggested as the most likely place that the convention will meet. On May 7, 2009, the Legislature reconvened in the Capitol for the first time since Sept. 20, 1985, due to flooding in the State House. This required some adapting, as the Capitol does not have desks in the House chamber and the desks in the Senate chamber are circa 1861 replicas nor does either chamber have a computerized voting system. The Capitol's heating and air conditioning is supplied from the S

Death of local girl sparks new Alabama law.

Auburn, Ala. (EETV)- A new bill was recently approved in the Alabama state senate which was introduced due to the death of 3-year-old Sadie Grace Andrews. This new law would require all restaurants to have a locked and secured grease trap or they could face a monetary fine of up to $500. 

Sadie died last October when she fell into a grease trap while playing outside Bruster's Ice Cream. 

After her death, local officials launched an investigation into the current grease trap laws. Her death was deemed as accidental and was put to a grand jury for disposition. The outcome of this case has not been made public, but the coroner stated that the grease trap "was not secure." 

Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, met with Sadie's parents after the incident to see what could be done to prevent this. Whatley wanted to do something to protect the well being of the public without causing unnecessary financial stress on businesses. 

The proposed bill would require all restaurants with a grease trap to have it either locked or secured by a mechanism and able to withstand accidental intrusion or opening. Lawmakers added an amendment after the bill was approved by committee that the law would be called the "Sadie Grace Andrews Act." 

This bill, sponsored by Whatley, is co-sponsored by 18 other senators from both sides of the aisle and will be moving to the House carried by Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn. Lovvorn said he filed the House version of the bill last Tuesday and hopes to get it to committee this week.