HELENA — A state House panel Wednesday strongly endorsed a package of bills to beef up local mental health services in Montana, as a key Republican lawmaker said that’s the best approach to solve the state’s mental health crisis.

“Every level of the mental health community in Montana has said the way to solve these (problems) most effectively and efficiently is in the community,” said Rep. Ron Ehli, R-Hamilton, the sponsor of three of the measures.

Ehli also chairs a budget panel that last week rejected Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s proposed funding to expand beds for mentally ill criminals at the State Hospital in Warm Springs and dementia patients at a state facility in Lewistown.

Ehli said Republicans don’t want to build new facilities, because they think increasing local mental health programs is a better way to help relieve overcrowding at state institutions.

The votes last week to cut the governor’s budget proposal came on party-line votes, with Democrats opposed.

But Wednesday’s votes by the House Appropriations Committee to increase funding for local programs had bipartisan support, with several of the votes unanimous.

“I just think that people are recognizing that we have to do something,” said Rep. Pat Noonan, D-Ramsay, who sits on both committees. “We’re just trying to flesh out all the ideas that we can.”

The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday approved five bills to increase funding for existing and new local programs, including new transitional group homes for the mentally ill, local intervention services for those in crisis, and pilot projects for intervention services for juveniles.

Together, the bills have $7.8 million in funding for the next two years.

Ehli said local law enforcement are saying mentally ill people are taking far too much of their time and needlessly filing up jails, when they should have access to crisis intervention services and treatment.

“We have to have programs set up to help those communities,” he said. “At every level in the community, they’re asking for help in a situation that continues to build and build and build.”

The bills proceed next to the full House.

Ehli also said he doesn’t think the Bullock administration disagrees that local services are needed. The Legislature, however, wants to “take [local services] to another level,” and resist building up institutions, he said.

Mike Wessler, a spokesman for the governor, said Wednesday that Bullock is encouraged that the Legislature “is recognizing the importance of community mental health services.”

Yet he said the governor still thinks investments are needed to expand “secure, acute care” at the State Hospital in Warm Springs, where more than 50 mentally ill people sent there by court order are sleeping in a facility built for 32.

“Working together we can reduce the demand for State Hospital services over time,” Wessler said in a statement. “The governor looks forward to continuing to work with legislators to ensure we’re living up to our full responsibilities to Montanans struggling with mental illness.”