A bipartisan legislative effort to issue building bonds to construct a new Fulton State Hospital complex drew support Monday in Gov. Jay Nixon's State of the State address to the Missouri General Assembly.
Nixon singled out the Fulton project in his speech, saying it should have a high priority in the state building bond plan.
"Bond proceeds," Nixon said, "will allow us to build a new and improved Fulton State Mental Hospital. We have a moral responsibility to these patients and their caregivers to provide the best possible environment: One that is safe, secure and conducive to healing."
Earlier in the legislative session, House Speaker Tim Jones, R-Eureka, and Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, launched a bipartisan plan to issue building bonds for colleges, parks, and mental hospitals.