Rep. Gene Ward (R, Kalama Valley-Queen’s Gate- Hawaii Kai) is calling on state officials to beef up security at the state Capitol in downtown Honolulu, warning that the governor and legislators who work in the building would be “sitting ducks” in the event of a terrorist attack.

In a letter sent Friday to Roderick Becker, director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services, Ward warned that the uptick in terrorist attacks nationally and internationally requires the state to enact better protections.

The Capitol “has such easy access, and a total lack of adequate security measures in and around the building that we are a tragedy waiting to happen,” Ward warned. “Recall at the recent State of the State and State of the Judiciary address almost every leader in the State of Hawaii participated. From a safety point of view, we were all sitting ducks in the House and Senate chambers.”

Ward said the state Capitol is particularly vulnerable on the side of South Beretania Street, from where a truck packed with explosives could drive right into the rotunda and explode in seconds.

“There are simply no barriers protecting the rotunda’s core and the state leaders and legislative employees who work around it,” he wrote.

Ward is proposing what he calls a “cost-free solution”: rearranging large, concrete planters that currently line the surrounding reflective pools to form a barrier between the Capitol’s rotunda and Beretania Street. He provided DAGS with a pictorial rendering of the plan, emphasizing that it didn’t detract from the Capitol’s aesthetics.

Ward also complained that while many state capitol buildings have some sort of screening or security checks in place, Hawaii has none. Visitors entering the building don’t have to show identification, nor are they searched or required to pass through a metal detector.

Ward cited the 2009 Christmas bombing in Detroit; the terror attack in Nice, France; the Charleston, S.C., church shooting; Boston Marathon bombing; Ohio State University attack; and the attack in Berlin late last year in urging state officials to enact better protections.

“We are different in Hawaii and particularly at our state Capitol, where its architecture reflects the natural beauty and openness of Hawaii,” he wrote. “The time has come when being too open is being naive and out of step with present security conditions.”

Asked for a response to Ward’s letter, DAGS spokesman Anthony Valdez said that by statute security planning and policy for the Capitol fall under the purview of the Hawaii Department of Public Safety.

“If DPS comes up with a security plan, then we would assist in implementing that,” he said.

As for rearranging the planters, Valdez said it wasn’t immediately clear whether that would provide “viable protection against a credible threat.”

“We think that would be a DPS decision,” he said. “We do know that they are connected to a sprinkler system. We would have to figure out how to disconnect them.”

DAGS’ staff also estimate that each planter weighs roughly 2,000 pounds. Valdez said it isn’t clear whether the ground could withstand their weight if they are lined up in the configuration that Ward is proposing.

DPS spokeswoman Toni Schwartz said the department’s Sheriff Division is responsible for the safety and security of the people who visit and work in the state Capitol. She said DPS would work with the State Capitol Management Committee, a group chaired by DAGS, to address Ward’s concerns.

Schwartz didn’t respond to specific questions about Ward’s plan or whether DPS has conducted any studies relating to the building’s security.

The state Capitol, which opened in 1969, was designed to reflect the open character of Hawaii’s society, particularly the center courtyard. But the openness of the architecture has also posed challenges for officials tasked with security.

Recently, officials have started locking the building on the weekends and installed a security system that restricts building access by screening the fingertips of authorized workers. But during the weekdays the building and garage are wide open to visitors, members of the public coming to testify on bills or visit state lawmakers, protesters advocating for reforms and homeless who take advantage of the public restrooms.

Jodi Leong, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Ige, whose offices occupy the top floor of the Capitol, said the governor had been in back-to-back meetings all day Friday and hadn’t had time to review Ward’s letter and proposal.

However, Bruce Coppa, who served as chief of staff to former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, said the building’s security had indeed been a concern for the previous administration, which had looked at installing additional security measures in the governor’s offices, in particular.

“I think as the world changes, you have to stay on top of this stuff,” Coppa said. “It is probably one of the easiest capitols to get into, at least during the day.”