House budget draft nixes plan for $26M secure psychiatric hospital

CONCORD — House budget writers have zeroed out one of Gov. Chris Sununu’s most widely applauded initiatives — his plan for a new secure psychiatric unit to house some of the state’s most challenging mental health patients.

The House Finance Committee will vote Wednesday on its version of the two-year revenue and spending plan, which is at odds with the governor’s plan on several fronts, including family medical leave, capital gains taxes, business taxes, education funding and mental health services.

The recommended House budget, scheduled for a floor vote on April 11, strikes out $26 million for a new 60-bed forensic psychiatric hospital, which would have to be planned by November 2019 and operational by June 2021, according to the budget proposal Sununu submitted in February.

The House is taking a more cautious approach, recommending funding for a study committee to oversee planning for such a facility, but with no groundbreaking anticipated until 2022, if at all.

Read more: https://www.unionleader.com/news/politics/state/house-budget-draft-nixes-plan-for-m-secure-psychiatric-hospital/article_e3b1ccff-1ead-53b1-a931-a560695fab8c.html