JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- While the governor and lawmakers sweat over a budget crunch that has some offices conserving paper clips, their Capitol bathrooms are getting a $2.7 million makeover.

When lawmakers returned Wednesday for the special session, they found that one of the more convenient men's restrooms -- right across the hall from the House chamber -- was a boarded-up construction zone.

That third-floor restroom is becoming an office, while an office down the hall is being transformed into a spacious women's restroom.

The reason, officials say: "potty parity."

Men have more

Over the years, men in the Capitol have acquired more restrooms and far more toilets than women.

The $2.7 million to fix the problem and meet plumbing codes is part of a sweeping Statehouse renovation project approved in 1999, before the current budget problems began.

"We're going back to a little bit better potty parity," said Randy Allen, director of Design and Construction in the Office of Administration. "The women have been shorted quite a bit over the past 20 or 30 years. ... It's always a joke at my home: The women take longer than the men. In theory, that's what's behind the code."

The project includes renovations to bathrooms on the Capitol's four main floors -- that's everywhere except the basement.

The money allotted for the bathroom work is "constitutionally protected," and it's too late to use it for anything else, said Office of Administration Commissioner Mike Hartmann.

The price tag on the bathroom project apparently irked a few members of the House, most of whom are staying home this week to save the state a total of about $50,000.

Among them was Rep. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, who said the third-floor renovation was a waste of money.

"When we're as short as we are, we could have certainly delayed this," Graham said.

Responding to their concerns, House Chief Clerk Ted Wedel wrote a letter to Allen: "Because this is such a tight budget year we want only to proceed if in your opinion, it is a wise use of state resources."

Allen said it was, and that there was more at stake than just toilet equality for the genders. The renovations also are making the restrooms more accessible to disabled people, fixing several old plumbing problems and adding long-needed ventilation.

When asked how men in the male-dominated Legislature ended up getting so many more toilets than women, Allen said, "Men rule the world. That's what I hear, anyway."