Montana House District 12 candidate Greg Hertz said he remains focus on fiscal responsibility. 

Incumbent House District 12 candidate Greg Hertz said promoting efficient, fiscally responsible government in Helena remains his primary focus. 

The Republican from Polson said he will continue supporting initiatives to simplify the state’s income tax system and wrangle in spending. With projected revenues down once again, Hertz said legislators will need to stay especially vigilant during next year’s budget discussions. 

“We’re definitely going to have to make some cuts,” he said.

One way to save money, Hertz said, could be reducing the amount of non-violent offenders in the state’s prison system. He said rehabilitation programs such as 24/7 monitoring have proven themselves cheaper and more effective than incarceration. 

As an accountant and CEO of a local grocery store company, Hertz said the state should make it easier on residents by simplifying its income tax system. He said currently taxpayers must wade through some 40 different credits. He said cutting out complicated components would reduce the number of Department of Revenue staff, reduce the burden on taxpayers and attract new businesses.

In 2013 and 2015 Hertz supported tax simplification bills that passed the state legislature but were ultimate vetoed by Gov. Steve Bullock, who argued that they would cost the state too much money. 

Another tax issue that looms large for Hertz is funding local governments, noting that Lake County has some particular hurdles. 

County officials recently announced a nearly $2-million drop in tax revenue after the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes took over operations of the formally named Kerr Dam. 

Hertz said that this loss of property from the tax rolls, combined with an obligation to provide law enforcement activity on the Flathead Indian Reservation under Public Law 280 places a burden on local taxpayers. 

“In the long term it’s a not a viable situation,” Hertz said. “Other services in the county are suffering.”

County officials have proposed that the state provide payments to counties with large areas of tax-exempt tribal land. Hertz said he would support such an arrangement, however he cautioned that securing funding may prove challenging in the current financial climate.   

Herz said a possible solution could lie property taxes. He said about 20 percent of payments go directly into the state’s general fund. If portions of these payments could be diverted back into county coffers, he said they could help fund local services.

When it comes to education, Hertz said that Montana should also have more control over its school system. He likened Common Core standards to a federal mandate, noting that the curriculums are copyrighted and difficult to modify. Perhaps more worrying, Hertz said, is the amount of time teachers and students spend on standardized testing. 

Rather than provide funding for states to implement Common Core standards, Hertz said the federal government should issue block grants, which states could then administer more effectively. Such a change, Hertz said, would require a combined effort from multiple states, however. 

Overall, Hertz said his platform follows a consistent theme.

“I’m going to keep working on promoting limited, efficient government,” he said.