{"id":939,"date":"2026-07-13T19:39:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T19:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=939"},"modified":"2026-07-13T19:39:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T19:39:06","slug":"will-colorado-voters-enshrine-right-to-natural-gas-in-the-state-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=939","title":{"rendered":"Will Colorado Voters Enshrine \u201cRight to Natural Gas\u201d in the State Constitution?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read more US Plans Embassy in Jerusalem on Land Stolen From Palestinian Families<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A ballot measure written by a conservative nonprofit could amend the Colorado Constitution to enshrine fossil fuel companies\u2019 right to sell methane gas and possibly force communities that have tried to eliminate gas appliances from new construction to back away from those efforts.<\/p>\n

Advance Colorado, which wrote the measure and led the effort to gather enough signatures to add the measure to the ballot, submitted its petition on June 25 to put Initiative 177, the \u201cRight to Natural Gas,\u201d to voters in November\u2019s state election.<\/p>\n

The broad language of the measure \u2014 only 60 words in total \u2014 makes it difficult to predict how state agencies would implement it if it passes and many people worry the amendment would endanger Colorado\u2019s ability to reach its climate goals. <\/p>\n

The proposed amendment states that \u201cproducers and utilities have the right to sell natural gas to homes and businesses.\u201d That could force changes to building codes that encourage electric heating and cooking, undoing progress towards electrification.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, it\u2019s just a cynical attempt to lock fossil fuel industry profits into the state constitution,\u201d said Kelly Nordini, CEO of Conservation Colorado, an environmental nonprofit. \u201cThat\u2019s bad for people\u2019s pocketbooks, for clean air, for clean water; it has no provisions for public health or safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ballot measure faced pushback earlier this year from House Democrats and Conservation Colorado. House Democrats proposed a bill that would have preemptively placed protections for public health and safety on the right to natural gas amendment. However, House Republicans ran out the clock on the bill during the final day of the legislative session, preventing it from being introduced. <\/p>\n

Conservation Colorado initially filed four ballot initiatives for November\u2019s state election in response to the amendment: three seeking to hold oil and gas companies liable for harm caused by their operations, and one to stop utilities raising rates to pay for natural gas infrastructure expansion. The organization later decided not to pursue these initiatives to focus on opposing the right to natural gas measure.<\/p>\n

Advance Colorado did not respond to requests for comment. However, in published in April, they argued that \u201cburdensome\u201d regulation places hidden costs on consumers and calls on the state to protect the right to energy choice. The report said that efforts towards decarbonization and electrification \u2014 key pillars of the state\u2019s efforts to confront climate change \u2014 \u201cwould have a devastating impact on Colorado.\u201d <\/p>\n

Legislators and industry groups in other states have pursued similar actions to prevent the transition away from domestic methane gas use. From 2020 to 2024, 26 states passed preemptive bans on policies that required the states to transition away from methane gas use. For example, in 2021, Utah enacted a law banning restrictions on connections to gas utilities.<\/p>\n

While the right to natural gas measure in Colorado has similar motivations to actions taken in other states, it takes a unique approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in uncharted terrain,\u201d said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. \u201cThis would be the first constitutional amendment to provide a right to a particular fossil fuel.\u201d A constitutional amendment would trump most legislation seeking to limit the use of methane gas, while the laws in other parts of the country don\u2019t have the same power. <\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s ballot measure is also unique in its breadth: the language contains no caveats, explanations or provisions for public safety. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t reflect the sort of thorough public engagement and decision making, and the application of technical expertise which typically you would want when making these kinds of decisions,\u201d said Burger. <\/p>\n

The decision to pursue the policy as a ballot measure also reflects a larger trend in Colorado politics. In recent years, citizen-initiated ballot measures have become the strategy of choice for conservatives in the state to pursue their policy priorities without going through the majority-blue legislature. <\/p>\n

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Ballot measures historically have been used to pursue policies that would struggle through an unsympathetic legislature. Colorado\u2019s 2004 Renewable Portfolio Standard, which established the state\u2019s first push towards renewable energy, succeeded as a ballot measure when Republicans held a majority in the state government.<\/p>\n

Voter turnout and engagement is low for local and state elections, especially for ballot issues, so financial backing can exert greater influence on the outcome. According to campaign finance disclosures, more than $1,000,000 was spent this year on signature collection for the right to natural gas initiative. <\/p>\n

Over the last three years, Advance Colorado and other conservative nonprofits have spent more than $8.6 million on canvassing for ballot initiatives that Advance Colorado writes. Since 2023, four conservative nonprofits \u2014 Advance Colorado, Colorado Dawn, Defend Colorado and Common Sense America \u2014 have accounted for nearly all of the $10,000,000 of reported spending by citizens on ballot initiative canvassing in the state. <\/p>\n

While Advance Colorado has deep pockets, it does not have to disclose its funders, which led Nordini to worry about the motivations behind the ballot measure.\u201cWho\u2019s funding that? Who\u2019s behind this? Who stands to benefit?\u201d she asked. \u201cWe have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oil and gas has historically held considerable political power in Colorado state politics. According to state lobbying disclosures, three oil and gas companies \u2014 Chevron, Civitas, and Kinder Morgan \u2014 collectively registered 21 lobbyists in the 2025 session, and industry groups registered at least another 16. The state\u2019s three largest employers \u2014 the University of Colorado, Denver International Airport and Walmart \u2014 registered only 8 total in the same year. <\/p>\n

In 2023, Civitas, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Colorado Oil and Gas association lobbied to support HB23-1127 \u201cCustomer\u2019s Right To Use Energy\u201d \u2014 a proposed bill very similar to the right to natural gas amendment. The bill, which failed in committee, also would have prohibited local building codes that limited the use of natural gas. <\/p>\n

The right to natural gas measure arrives as the state pursues policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions from natural gas. Colorado currently generates around a third of its electricity from methane gas, and around 70 percent of the state\u2019s homes use it for heating. In 2022, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission issued a rule requiring emissions from heating buildings to be cut by 41 percent by 2035. <\/p>\n

The state relies on incentives to encourage homeowners to make energy efficiency upgrades in their homes. Rebates for switching to electric heat pumps, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, were hugely popular with Coloradans \u2014 of the $31.89 million in funding released by the state in November 2025, only $3.5 million remains. Homeowners in the eastern half of the state reserved the four years\u2019 worth of rebates available to them within six months.<\/p>\n

Electric heat pumps emit less carbon than methane gas furnaces, even when methane gas powers the local electricity grid. They are more energy efficient, and as the grid incorporates more renewables, the emissions per unit of heat they generate goes down. Heat pumps can also lower utility bills, reduce indoor pollution and minimize the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.<\/p>\n

In the past five years, some municipalities in Colorado have adopted ambitious building codes that require heat pumps in new buildings to reduce carbon emissions. A 2022 in the City of Denver requires swapping methane gas furnaces for heat pumps whenever a home or commercial building needs a major repair to its heating system. The town of Crested Butte now requires new construction to be all-electric \u2014 that means no methane gas for heating, boilers or cooking.<\/p>\n

If Advance Colorado\u2019s right to natural gas amendment passes in November, those building codes would likely need to change to maintain distributors\u2019 ability to sell gas to homeowners and businesses.<\/p>\n

The right to natural gas has to earn 55 percent of the vote to become part of the constitution, but it will face vocal opposition from environmental and progressive groups throughout the state. Conservation Colorado has submitted a campaign finance complaint alleging that Advance Colorado has failed to register an issue committee and disclose all expenditures related to the campaign.<\/p>\n

Even though Advance Colorado gathered the signatures necessary to get the initiative on the November ballot, Nordini is optimistic that it won\u2019t prevail in the election: \u201cI think Colorado voters will see through this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis would be the first constitutional amendment to provide a right to a particular fossil fuel,\u201d notes an expert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nWill Colorado Voters Enshrine \u201cRight to Natural Gas\u201d in the State Constitution? - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=939\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will Colorado Voters Enshrine \u201cRight to Natural Gas\u201d in the State Constitution? 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