Colorado voters reject Amendment 82, a proposed constitutional right to natural gas

25h

Summary

Colorado voters rejected Amendment 82, a ballot measure that would have written a right to buy and sell natural gas into the state constitution, by more than 7 points.
Advance Colorado, a conservative advocacy group led by Michael Fields, sponsored the first-of-its-kind amendment, which would also have limited state and local regulation of natural gas.
Three issue committees backed the measure, including Brighter Colorado, which raised $6 million from oil and gas companies and industry-linked donors.
Supporters argued gas is clean, affordable, and under attack from Colorado's pro-electrification policies; opponents said it would have locked in fossil fuels and hindered climate policy.
Colorado, which uses natural gas to heat about 70 percent of its buildings, has committed to zeroing out net greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

Sierra Club Colorado political director Garrett Royer said the amendment would have been an existential threat to the state's energy future, and forecast supporters may test a similar initiative in Nevada.
Conservation Colorado CEO Kelly Nordini said Amendment 82 was an attempt to lock in a fuel of the past and that voters saw through it.
Energy and Policy Institute analyst Keriann Conroy said writing a fossil fuel into a constitution carries dangerous implications amid climate-exacerbated disasters.
Advance Colorado claimed natural gas is one of the cleanest energy sources available and that Coloradans should stay free to heat and cook with it.
Energy Freedom Alliance of the Rockies, an issue committee headed by oil company executive Kit Pfeiffer, said the amendment limited what governments could do to take away gas choice.
Industry groups sued over Colorado's gas-stove labeling law, which requires warnings of health risks on the appliances.

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