The Colorado Sun, in a story republished by Colorado Public Radio through the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, reports that Democratic lawmakers at the state Capitol abandoned their attempt to blunt a proposed ballot measure that would give Coloradans a constitutional “right to natural gas.”
The measure, Initiative 177, is backed by Advance Colorado and is still in the signature-gathering phase. Democrats had planned a last-minute bill they said would protect public safety and local air quality, but Republicans used procedural delay tactics Monday, including requests to read several bills at length, and Democrats never introduced the thing.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Democratic leaders talked big Friday about legislation to soften the impact of Initiative 177, then Monday arrived and the bill vanished like accountability in a committee hearing.
- House Speaker Julie McCluskie, Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, and Sen. Lisa Cutter said their proposal was meant to make sure the natural gas amendment did not threaten public safety or local air quality. Conveniently, we never got to see the bill, so everyone just has to grade the ghost.
- Republicans slowed things down by demanding bills be read at length, which is a perfectly legal Capitol tactic and also one of the few times lawmakers are forced to confront the words they voted on.
- Initiative 177 would give distributors a constitutional right to sell natural gas and consumers a constitutional right to buy it for cooking and heating. That has Democrats and Gov. Jared Polis worried it could interfere with climate policies and a 2024 oil and gas compromise.
- Advance Colorado says the measure is about protecting consumers from rising energy costs and preserving access to reliable, affordable energy. Democrats say it could undermine local regulation and climate goals. Amazing how “choice” becomes a crisis the moment regular people might get some.
My Bottom Line
This bill was an absolute stinker from the start. The ruling elitist Democrats under the Gold Dome once again decided the real problem is not unaffordable energy, not public distrust, and not their own heavy-handed climate crusade. No, the emergency was that voters might get a say. Can’t have that. Democracy is sacred, right up until the peasants ask for heat.
I disagree with Speaker McCluskie on nearly everything, but I have generally considered her a serious person. This episode did not help her case. If this bill was so necessary, introduce it. Defend it. Put the language in public and let everyone see what the big emergency was. Instead, we got a press release, a panic, and then a disappearing act. That is not leadership. That is legislative jazz hands.
Now, we can absolutely debate whether something like natural gas access belongs in the Colorado Constitution. That is a fair question. Constitutions should not become junk drawers for every policy fight under the sun. But we also have to ask why groups like Advance Colorado feel the need to go there in the first place. The answer is not complicated. A lot of Coloradans do not trust the Democratic majority to leave them alone, keep energy affordable, or respect basic consumer choice.
When government spends years trying to micromanage your appliances, your fuel sources, your utility bills, and your local economy, people start looking for bigger locks on the door. Initiative 177 may or may not be the perfect tool. But the panic from the Capitol class tells you plenty. They are not afraid natural gas will hurt democracy. They are afraid voters might.
Source: The Colorado Sun
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