Legislation authored by U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton to bring additional education funding back to Colorado is moving through the House and had it’s first hearing this week.
Tipton’s proposal would not increase deficit spending, but would redirect a third of all new mineral and geothermal revenues back to the state from where it originated.
In other words, this could be a windfall for Colorado schools.
The counties that produce the revenues are the ones that should benefit, Tipton says.
Since western states have a larger amount of nontaxable federal land, they are quite disadvantaged when finding resources for in-state education funding. @RepTipton‘s bill provides more revenue for public K-12 and higher education.
More: https://t.co/cZn8pQaGN6 pic.twitter.com/fg3ImgrzlU
— Natural Resources (@NatResources) June 21, 2018
Mesa County Commissioner Rose Pugliese testified during the Thursday hearing, and suggested Tipton make an interesting amendment to his bill.
She suggested Congress bypass the states, and deliver the money directly to local communities.
“In Colorado, we have seen firsthand how severance tax has been raided to balance the state budget. We have also seen the underfunding of K-12 education and higher education.”
It’s a reasonable proposal to pad state education funding, and it only makes sense to share the federal windfalls within a community, with the community.