A key Missouri senator is raising concerns about Governor Jay Nixon's plan to issue $198 million of bonds for new mental hospital facilities.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Kurt Schaefer on Wednesday called the bonding plan "extremely troublesome" because it wouldn't go to a vote of the people.
Nixon wants to issue the bonds through a state development board and pay them off through annual legislative appropriations. He's proposing to set aside $14 million this year and an additional $14 million in the 2015 budget for the initial bond payments.
The money would go for new maximum and intermediate security facilities at the Fulton State Hospital.
The current budget already includes $13 million to design the facilities. But officials haven't agreed on how to pay for the construction.
