Opinion | McCrackin: Vote ‘No’ on Amendment 82
Colorado’s Constitution should protect the rights and well-being of its people, not guarantee a permanent right for one polluting energy industry to sell its product. That is why I urge Eagle County voters to vote “No” on Amendment 82.
Amendment 82 would establish a constitutional right for consumers to purchase natural gas for heating and cooking, and for utilities and distributors to sell it. Consumers can already purchase natural gas under current law. If passed, Amendment 82 would elevate that right to our state’s Constitution, limiting how future policymakers can regulate its use into the future.
There is a contradiction here worth considering: We are being asked to constitutionally protect the sale of one energy source and industry — notably a polluting one tied to harmful public health outcomes — while clean air and clean water do not even have protections in our state Constitution. No single industry should be given a permanent constitutional advantage over the public’s ability to protect our health and environment.
I believe local governments should retain the authority to make decisions that reflect our communities’ needs. Policy makers, scientists, and public health experts need the flexibility to use the best available evidence to shape policy. Amendment 82 risks shifting local decision making away from communities and policymakers and into the courts, where the implications of this broad constitutional language would have to be determined.
Laws can be debated, improved, and updated as technology and community priorities evolve. Constitutional amendments are far more difficult to change. We should exercise extreme caution about permanently limiting our options for the sake of protecting one energy source. This is an unprecedented overreach of a single fossil fuel industry, and no other state has enshrined a constitutional right to natural gas.
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Our communities deserve the autonomy to make informed decisions about our future. I’m urging you to vote “No” on Amendment 82 this November.
Gina McCrackin
Eagle
Eagle Town Council member
