paula noonan
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Noonan: Oil and gas ‘sides’ need to move forward to secure public safety
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Both “sides” in the arguments over oil and gas development say the other is “taking advantage” of the explosions in Firestone and Mead. This should not be a time for sides. This should be a time for serious analysis. It can also provide an opening that should, for the sake of everyone in the state,…
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Noonan: Late session bill dance frustrates citizens and reduces oversight
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The last full week of the 2017 General Assembly had 220 bills still unfinished, with three bills introduced within five days of the end of session. Five big bills, two negotiated for wins and three up in the air, were on the docket. SB17-267, the Sustainability of Rural Colorado bill, initially received support for its…
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Noonan: No shortage of 2017 General Assembly bill quantity, but what about quality?
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The Colorado Senate crossed the 300 bill mark for the first time in quite a few years. The House, with more members than the Senate, will probably get to about 380 bills. Stick in the eye HB17-1328 requires certain federal candidates to disclose their income tax returns to get on the Colorado ballot. The bill…
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Noonan: More school funding not enough to achieve significant proficiency improvements
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The state boosted its per pupil funding for public school students by 2.8 percent out of the General Fund to $6,585,800,182 for 2017-2018. That number works out to $6,546.20 per student, according to Senate Bill 17-296. Adding other sources, the Colorado Department of Education estimates that the average per pupil funding for next year will…
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Noonan: Bipartisanship may set a new high bar with rural sustainability bill
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Gov. John Hickenlooper takes first place, with his signature, as currently the most bipartisan politician in Colorado. He has signed 137 bills in the 2017 General Assembly. Of those, 111 are bipartisan, 15 are Dem-only sponsored and 11 are GOP-only sponsored. He has clearly set a basis that he prefers both chambers to work collaboratively.…
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Noonan: Bipartisan bill takes on age of consent for mental health care for children
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Parents generally make medical decisions for their children. A bipartisan House bill addresses at what age children can make mental health care decisions for themselves, lowering the age of consent for a child to receive outpatient therapy from 15 years to 10 years. Bill sponsors cite a 50 percent rise in the occurrence of suicide…
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Noonan: TABOR is 25 and too alive and too well
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Colorado’s population in 1992 was 3.5 million. Census projections put the state’s population in 2017 at 5.5 million. In 1992, 812,308 citizens – 53.68 percent of voters – said yes to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), and 700,906 citizens – 46.32 percent of voters – said no. Not to make too fine a point,…
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Noonan: Bill envisions high quality education for Colorado … But where’s the money?
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A new bipartisan bill, Achieving a Vision for Education in Colorado, HB17-1287, sets up an advisory board to create a strategic plan for public education, preschool through college, for implementation up to 2030. The bill recognizes that the 21st century world is “fiercely competitive” and that a “world class highly effective twenty-first-century learning system is the…
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Noonan: Charter vs. School District money fights result from public education underfunding
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Public school funding advocates are reduced to fighting over scraps lately, with two bills attempting to “equalize” school finance from different directions. The big picture is that the state Legislature, since the Great Recession, hasn’t come up with any solution to public school underfunding. Governor candidate and former State Sen. Michael Johnston ran his “Future…
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Noonan: New ‘most accessed’ bills list gives peek at political strategy
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Republican state legislators dominate as sponsors of the capitol’s new, “most accessed bills” list with three pieces of legislation written to push Democrats over the edge. The top “most accessed” bill, killed in the House chamber, took a direct shot at politicians who support sanctuary cities, meaning Democrats in Denver and Aurora. Second is a…
