Perry wants health care solution

Rep. Zac Perry, D-Martin City, said his first six weeks as a rookie state legislator had been “wonderfully overwhelming.”

“It’s amazing the information and resources at your disposal,” he said last week.

Perry has introduced a few bills this session, but most have not been headline grabbers. One that passed the House and Senate would allow school districts to lease land for up to 15 years and personal property up to seven. The bill came back to the House with Senate amendments and is expected to pass.

In the bigger picture, Perry said he hopes the legislature comes up with a health care plan to help Montana’s uninsured residents.

“It’s imperative that we have something that will benefit Montanans,” he said.

Gov. Steve Bullock has advocated expanding Medicaid to fill a gap with Obamacare, but Republicans have come up with a plan of their own.

A GOP plan sponsored by Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton, does not accept additional federal money for Medicaid, as the Bullock plan does. Her plan would provide coverage for the disabled, parents of children who fall below the federal poverty line, and veterans who are ineligible for insurance under other government or private insurance programs under the state’s existing Medicaid plan.

Perry said he expects some sort of compromise in the end. Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, agrees.

“We need to help those that help themselves,” she said.

A bill Perry sponsored that would have expanded the use of Treasure State Endowment Program funds to pay for quiet zones at railroad track crossings died in committee. He sponsored the bill at the request of the city of Columbia Falls, but it died following objections from the Montana Association of Counties.

“Everything went down the rabbit hole,” Perry said.

Perry said he doesn’t support cutting state taxes until the state’s fiscal picture becomes clearer.

The biggest issue he’s received phone calls about is the federal budget. He said he got about 20 calls one night asking him to support House Joint Resolution 4, which calls for amending the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced federal budget.

In Congress, Rep. Ryan Zinke and Sen. Steve Daines last week showed support for balancing the federal budget. Daines introduced the Balanced Budget Accountability Act, which requires that Congress pass a balanced budget or they won’t get paid.