Nixon criticizes House for ignoring hospital plan

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is criticizing House budget writers for not going along with his plan for constructing a new mental health facility at Fulton State Hospital.

The governor wants to issue $198 million in bonds for the facility. He asked lawmakers for $14 million in the current state budget for initial bond payments, but the House Budget Committee did not include those funds in its proposal.

Nixon said Wednesday that he is "sick and tired" of inaction on the hospital and that its current conditions were a threat to patients and employees. Lawmakers say the funds weren't needed in the current budget.

The hospital opened in 1851 and is the oldest public mental health facility west of the Mississippi River.