Colorado voters to decide on constitutional right for natural gas

Colorado's upcoming ballot will feature Amendment 82, which aims to enshrine a consumer right to purchase natural gas for home and business use, and a corresponding right for utilities to sell the fuel, into the state constitution. The initiative is driven by the conservative nonprofit Advance Colorado, which has received sizable contributions from groups such as Common Sense America and Colorado Dawn, and has spent heavily on signature collection.

Opponents, including Conservation Colorado, Western Resource Advocates and the Vote Common Sense committee, argue the amendment could block the state’s clean-heat and emissions-reduction targets and raise utility costs. The amendment would need 55% of votes to be adopted. Past attempts at similar measures were withdrawn after compromises with environmental groups, but this effort proceeds despite a failed legislative attempt to blunt its impact.