The assistant majority leader in the state Senate says one of the big budget issues on the table is the proposal for a new state hospital in Jamestown.
"We're looking at anywhere from $285 million to $330 million, depending on who you ask," said Sen. Jerry Klein (R-Fessenden).
Klein said that budget item is being moved from the Human Services Budget into the OMB budget.
"That's just to clear the Human Services budget, and then have our folks directing the traffic as to how that should be done," Klein said.
Klein said there are a lot of questions – should the hospital project go forward, should the state instead look are more regional mental health treatment centers? And he said there is the question of bonding for the state hospital project.
"The Senate is not excited about bonding for anything," Klein said. "If we can do this, we're going to do it with State Infrastructure and Improvement Fund money, or maybe we don't need it at this point," Klein said. "When do we need the money? Are we shovel-ready?"
Klein said a lot of those things are still under discussion. He said he expects this will be one of the final issues of the Legislative session.
