Committee approves substitute to restructure Central State Hospital redevelopment authority amid contested local testimony and ongoing probes

Senator Williams, sponsor: "What we have is trying to straighten out a little issue down in Milledgeville, Baldwin County," Senator Williams told the House Committee on Intergovernmental Coordination, describing Central State Hospital as a 2,000-acre campus with roughly 100 buildings that the state still owns.

The substitute for SB 260 would change the structure of the Central State Hospital redevelopment authority by reducing the number of local board members (the draft before committee set four members, three voting) and placing the authority under the Department of Community Affairs with appointments made by statewide leaders (the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker) and a State Properties representative. Senator Williams and supporters said the change would provide state legal counsel, auditing oversight and state-level capacity to market and redevelop the site more quickly.

Supporters: Baldwin County Commissioner Andrew Strickland and…