Governor to Pay for Using State Plane for Campaign, But Rep. Tshida says Pay Total is Not a “Reasonable Amount”

Montana Governor Steve Bullock has agreed to reimburse the state more that $2,500 for travel using a state-owned plane the coincided with campaign events. This comes after campaign stops and the use of the plain were highlighted by  House District 97 Representative Brad Tschida on radio and in newspapers across the state. Tschida says that amount of money that Bullock's team has agreed to pay, doesn’t cover the actual cost.

“I don’t think the amount is a reasonable amount, based on just straight ahead fair play,” said Tschida. “If half of the expense is spent on a campaign event and half is spent on state work then I think there should be a compensation amount of reimbursement for that. Secondly, if its been done in the past and he continues to do something that may not have been right in the past, in respect to who the Governor was, I don’t think that needs to be a practice that is continued.”

Tschida proposed that use of government property should be examined more closely in the future.

“In a wider sense, I think what I would do is probably propose something that takes a look at use of government property in a wider slot rather than just looking at one particular aspect of it,” Tschida said. “If it is happening with the airplane it may be happening with automobiles and other types of equipment use and I think it is probably a good idea to do an assessment of where there might be misuse.”

The governor is paying the state for 21 trips at a cost of about $500 an hour to fly the plane, which averages more than $120 per trip.