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A disagreement about a new office building proposed for Juneau and a dispute over how Alaska will draw from its savings accounts to pay for state government were among issues slowing last-minute progress in the Legislature.

Lawmakers have until midnight tonight to wrap up business in the 90-day session.

In a session that continued well into Saturday night, the House approved bills to set up a new electronic medical records system and revise how charter schools are funded.

Lawmakers delayed until today the final consideration of other measures such as increasing Alaska's minimum wage and permanently raising the amount of subsidy for Power Cost Equalization, a state program that assist rural residents with residential electric expenses. The latter bill would continue a maximum $1 per kilowatt-hour cap on power costs that was first approved last year.

House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, said Minority Democrats object to the Republican-led Majority's proposal to use the Constitutional Budget Reserve to cover a budget deficit that's expected to exceed $1 billion. They say other reserves should be used first before tapping the constitutionally protected savings account.

Juneau lawmakers and others are making a final push for a new $45.5 million office building that could provide upgraded space for about 500 employees of the departments of Labor, Public Safety and Fish and Game in the capital.

The employees are now in three leased buildings that Juneau lawmakers say are near the end of their useful lives - or worse.

Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau, politely termed as "aging" a Department of Fish and Game building in Douglas and a Public Safety building in Juneau.

"They're in need of a lot of work," she said. "They need new roofs. The building in Douglas needs a new envelope (exterior). There's a tremendous amount of work that is required in both facilities, approximately $8.5 million in immediate infrastructure improvement just to keep the buildings habitable."

The Labor Department building has more serious problems. Fingers can be poked through drywall in parts of the building and windows have fallen out of casements, Muñoz said. The building has flooded and mold is present.

"Many employees have come down sick and they're not able to work there," Muñoz said.

Leases on the buildings end in 2012 and timing is critical for approving a new office building this session, Muñoz said. State administrators do not want employees to stay in the Labor building past the current lease and do not want to use more state money fixing the buildings.

Kerttula said a new building built in partnership with the Alaska Mental Health Trust would be cheaper that current facilities.

"They're going to either have to move employees some place or they're going to have to re-up with this office building," Kerttula said.

The new building would be built on trust land and the trust would benefit by receiving an income stream over the life of the lease, Muñoz and Kerttula said.

Authorization for a new building passed the House but remains in the Senate Finance Committee.

"I've got lots of things in my committee," said its co-chairman, Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, Saturday night.

The committee will meet today to consider the supplemental budget and a measure on children's life jackets, he said - and nothing else.

The issue of replacing what's referred to as the "Plywood Palace," Stedman said, is a legitimate concern.

"It's a big policy call and we will be back looking at it in January," he said.

He denied that his decision not to move the measure was tied to strong support by Muñoz for returning to a defined benefits retirement system for state employees that he helped get rid of under the Murkowski administration.