Missouri senators have endorsed a plan that could help finance hundreds of millions of dollars of improvements to state buildings.
Sponsoring Sen. Mike Parson said the measure given initial approval Thursday would authorize $600 million of revenue bonds to be issued by the Board of Public Buildings. He said about one-third of that would go to replace old buildings at a state mental health hospital in Fulton. Parson said another third would go toward a backlog of repairs at state buildings, and the final third toward repairs at public colleges and universities.
The bill had been stalled for several weeks in the Senate because some Republicans opposed raising the state's debt limit. But they relented today. The bill won preliminary approval by a 26-7 vote.
