Senate Finance Committee approves psych facility compromise
New Hampshire’s Senate Finance Committee is backing a plan to create a psychiatric facility in the state, breathing new life into a proposal by Gov. Chris Sununu months after the House stripped it from the budget.
But the plan, recommended 4-2, scales back Sununu’s original vision for a standalone psychiatric hospital, reducing the bed count from 60 to 24 and the price tag from $26 million to $17 million.
It’s the latest in a series of compromises being put forth to address yawning differences between the Republican governor and Democratically controlled Legislature over the budget. After weeks of rallies in which Sununu decried the House budget for tax hikes and surplus spending and threatened a veto, Senate Democrats are seeking to stake out common ground.
On Tuesday, those efforts hit full throttle, as senators on the six-member committee released and voted on a series of amendments relating to education and health care funding, intended to strike a balanced budget and head off a veto.
Read more: https://www.concordmonitor.com/New-Hampshire-Senate-Finance-throws-out-House-Democrats-capital-gains-tax-25853245