While Coloradans might have breathed a sigh of relief when Sen. Aguilar’s proposed $16 billion tax increase was killed, it’s not time to relax yet.  Sen. Johnston’s $1 billion tax increase for “education” is now making its way through the House.  Earlier this week, it passed out of the House Education Committee on a party line vote.

We thought it might be helpful for Coloradans to know which legislators in the House Education Committee signed Coloradans up for extra taxes.  Since it was a party line vote, its really pretty easy.  Here are the Democratic representatives who don’t think you pay enough in taxes:

• John Buckner (Aurora)
• Lois Court (Denver)
• Rhonda Fields (Aurora)
• Millie Hamner (Frisco)
• Cherylin Peniston (Westminster)
• Brittany Pettersen (Lakewood)
• Dave Young (Greeley)

Of course, if one follows the money, most of these representatives received significant amounts of money from the education unions.  Buckner’s second highest donor, behind only the Colorado Democratic Party, was the Colorado Education Association, which donated $4,500 to his campaign, according to FollowtheMoney.org.  A search for Pettersen, Fields, Young, and Hamner yielded nearly identical results as Buckner – the CEA was their second highest contributors.  In the case of Peniston, the CEA was her third-highest contributor as the union only gave her approximately $3,750.

Let’s remember next election cycle when these legislators are up for election that they chose the teachers’ unions over hardworking Colorado families.

As an update, the bill is now headed to a committee of the whole, meaning the entire Colorado House must pass it.  But, even then, if that happens, Democratic proponents of this tax increase are working to put this on the ballot.  Neither the bill nor the tax increase go into effect until it’s passed by the voters of Colorado.