The construction of a new inpatient mental health hospital is $124 million over budget, and House budget leaders do not want taxpayers to pick up the tab.
The Donahue Behavioral Health Campus, located in Oklahoma City, was budgeted for $147 million and broke ground in March 2024. It would serve adults and adolescents with 330 beds when completed, an increase in capacity by 100 beds from the Griffin Memorial Hospital, in Norman, it is intended to replace.
But in its budget request to the Legislature for the 2026 fiscal year, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services asked for another $124 million to cover overrun costs. The House recommended not fulfilling this request…