Opinion | Schlaepfer: Vote no on Amendment 82
Vote no on Amendment 82. Here’s why. Amendment 82 will tether Coloradans to a single polluting industry, remove local control and ensure we all must use this singular energy source forever. It does not belong in our state constitution.
Amendment 82 is asking the residents of Colorado to enshrine, in our state constitution, a permanent right for gas utility companies to sell us natural gas (even if we don’t want it). The amendment also gives the right to residents to buy natural gas — a right we already have.
The Colorado Constitution does not give us the right to clean air and clear water. But, we are asked to vote to give constitutional rights for a singular industry, one that has a lot of profit motive, to have a permanent right to sell their polluting product in our state? I don’t think so.
First, natural gas companies are major polluters in this state. Giving polluters a constitutional right to sell their product and keep polluting forever into the future will tether Coloradans to a polluting energy source that may not be our preferred energy source in years to come. This deceptive amendment is aiming to strap Colorado to polluters with no way out. Don’t want gas in your home because your child has asthma? If this amendment passes, it will not be you who decides if you can have gas, but the courts who would be required to protect a polluter’s constitutional right to sell you that gas.
Second, this is unprecedented overreach by a single industry. No states, even the most conservative, have added constitutional language enshrining a constitutional right to natural gas. Laws can and have been passed at the state and local levels to ensure gas has a place in our energy future. This is where this type of amendment belongs, not in the constitution. Enshrining a right to gas in the constitution removes our local control to make decisions on the energy sources most appropriate for our communities. Laws can be changed as lawmakers rotate out of office, but a constitutional amendment does not change as easily.
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Lastly, this amendment is sponsored, funded and promoted by Advance Colorado. A dark-money conservative group funded by a local billionaire who uses their enormous wealth to push forward ballot measures in Colorado elections. An amendment by Advance Colorado is likely not one that supports the average person and deserves extra scrutiny. This amendment is no exception.
Vote NO on Amendment 82.
Kimberly Schlaepfer
Avon
