Attorney General Chris Koster is proposing to use money recovered from consumer fraud cases to help pay for a $3.2 million renovation of his staff's office.
Koster said Wednesday the remodeling would spruce up a long-neglected part of the Broadway State Office Building, complementing repairs made over the past couple years to the building's leaking windows and roof.
At least one state senator questioned whether it was a wise use of money to remodel an office, especially as the state is considering cuts to colleges, universities and other services because of a state budget shortfall.
Koster's proposal, which is pending before lawmakers, would not use general state revenues. Instead, it would tap nearly $2.8 million from a special fund set up to receive money from consumer fraud and unfair merchandising cases brought by the attorney general's office, as well as nearly $400,000 from federal funds.
The goal is to make the space equivalent to "a modest, model-quality law office," Koster said. "We're not trying to make anything fancy over there."