Fulton State Hospital will be replaced.
As part of the budget package for the state business year that begins July 1, Missouri lawmakers today approved selling $198 million in bonds to build a more modern facility for the hospital, which is the oldest mental health institution west of the Mississippi River.
The budget also includes more than $14 million to begin repaying the bonds, a process planned to take 25 years.
Gov. Jay Nixon still must approve the budget plan.
But the Fulton hospital funding generally follows the proposal he made during his State of the State address last January.
The state already has hired a firm to design the new facility.