Colorado will decide whether a “right to natural gas” is added to state constitution

科罗拉多州将决定是否将“天然气权利”写入州宪法

A ballot measure written by a conservative nonprofit could amend the Colorado Constitution to enshrine fossil fuel companies’ 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. 一项由保守派非营利组织起草的投票提案可能修改科罗拉多州宪法，旨在确立化石燃料公司销售甲烷气的权利，并可能迫使那些试图在新建筑中淘汰燃气设备的社区放弃相关努力。

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 “Right to Natural Gas,” to voters in November’s state election. 起草该提案并牵头收集足够签名以将其列入选票的“前进科罗拉多”（Advance Colorado）组织，于6月25日提交了请愿书，旨在将第177号倡议——即“天然气权利”提案——提交给11月州选举的选民投票。

The broad language of the measure—only 60 words in total—makes it difficult to predict how state agencies would implement it if it passes, and many people worry the amendment would endanger Colorado’s ability to reach its climate goals. 该提案的措辞非常宽泛，总共仅有60个字，这使得人们难以预测如果提案通过，州政府机构将如何执行。许多人担心，这一修正案将危及科罗拉多州实现其气候目标的能力。

The proposed amendment states that “producers and utilities have the right to sell natural gas to homes and businesses.” That could force changes to building codes that encourage electric heating and cooking, undoing progress toward electrification. 拟议的修正案规定：“生产商和公用事业公司有权向家庭和企业销售天然气。”这可能会迫使政府修改鼓励电力供暖和烹饪的建筑规范，从而抵消在电气化方面取得的进展。

“Really, it’s just a cynical attempt to lock fossil fuel industry profits into the state constitution,” said Kelly Nordini, CEO of Conservation Colorado, an environmental nonprofit. “That’s bad for people’s pocketbooks, for clean air, for clean water; it has no provisions for public health or safety.” “这实际上只是一种愤世嫉俗的企图，旨在将化石燃料行业的利润锁定在州宪法中，”环保非营利组织“科罗拉多保护协会”（Conservation Colorado）首席执行官凯利·诺迪尼（Kelly Nordini）表示。“这对民众的钱包、清洁空气和清洁水源都是不利的；它没有任何关于公共健康或安全的条款。”

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. 该投票提案在今年早些时候遭到了众议院民主党人和“科罗拉多保护协会”的抵制。众议院民主党人曾提出一项法案，旨在预先为“天然气权利”修正案设定公共健康和安全保护措施。然而，众议院共和党人在立法会议的最后一天拖延了时间，导致该法案未能被提交。

Conservation Colorado initially filed four ballot initiatives for November’s 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 from 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. 作为对该修正案的回应，“科罗拉多保护协会”最初为11月的州选举提交了四项投票倡议：其中三项旨在要求石油和天然气公司对其运营造成的损害承担责任，另一项旨在阻止公用事业公司通过提高费率来支付天然气基础设施的扩张费用。该组织后来决定放弃这些倡议，转而集中精力反对“天然气权利”提案。

Advance Colorado did not respond to requests for comment. However, in a report published in April, they argued that “burdensome” regulation places hidden costs on consumers and calls on the state to protect the right to energy choice. The report said that efforts toward decarbonization and electrification—key pillars of the state’s efforts to confront climate change—“would have a devastating impact on Colorado.” “前进科罗拉多”组织未回应置评请求。然而，在4月份发布的一份报告中，他们辩称“繁重”的监管给消费者带来了隐性成本，并呼吁州政府保护能源选择权。报告称，脱碳和电气化——作为该州应对气候变化的关键支柱——的努力“将对科罗拉多州产生毁灭性影响”。

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. 其他州的立法者和行业团体也采取了类似行动，以阻止摆脱国内甲烷气使用的转型。从2020年到2024年，有26个州通过了预先禁令，禁止实施要求各州停止使用甲烷气的政策。例如，犹他州在2021年颁布了一项法律，禁止对连接天然气公用设施进行限制。

While the right to natural gas measure in Colorado has similar motivations to actions taken in other states, it takes a unique approach. “We’re in uncharted terrain,” said Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. “This would be the first constitutional amendment to provide a right to a particular fossil fuel.” 虽然科罗拉多州的“天然气权利”提案与其他州的行动动机相似，但它采取了一种独特的方式。“我们正处于未知的领域，”哥伦比亚大学萨宾气候变化法中心执行主任迈克尔·伯格（Michael Burger）表示。“这将是第一个为特定化石燃料提供权利的宪法修正案。”

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’t have the same power. Colorado’s ballot measure is also unique in its breadth: the language contains no caveats, explanations or provisions for public safety. 宪法修正案将凌驾于大多数旨在限制甲烷气使用的立法之上，而美国其他地区的法律并不具备同样的效力。科罗拉多州的这项投票提案在广度上也独树一帜：其措辞中没有任何警示、解释或关于公共安全的条款。

“It doesn’t 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,” said Burger. “它没有反映出在做出此类决策时通常所需要的深入公众参与、决策过程以及技术专长的应用，”伯格说道。

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. 将该政策作为投票提案来推进的决定，也反映了科罗拉多州政治的一个更大趋势。近年来，公民发起的投票提案已成为该州保守派的首选策略，旨在绕过由民主党占多数的立法机构，直接追求其政策优先事项。

Ballot measures historically have been used to pursue policies that would struggle through an unsympathetic legislature. Colorado’s 2004 Renewable Portfolio Standard, which established the state’s first push towards renewable energy, succeeded as a ballot measure when Republicans held a majority in the state government. 从历史上看，投票提案一直被用于推行那些在不友好的立法机构中难以通过的政策。科罗拉多州2004年的“可再生能源组合标准”（Renewable Portfolio Standard）确立了该州向可再生能源迈出的第一步，当时在共和党控制州政府多数席位的情况下，该政策正是通过投票提案获得成功的。

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. 地方和州选举的选民投票率和参与度较低，尤其是针对投票议题，因此资金支持可以对结果产生更大的影响。根据竞选财务披露，今年在“天然气权利”倡议的签名收集上花费了超过100万美元。

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—Advance Colorado, Colorado Dawn, Defend Colorado and Common Sense America—have accounted for nearly all of the $10,000,000 of reported spending by citizens on ballot initiative canvassing in the state. 在过去三年中， “前进科罗拉多”和其他保守派非营利组织在为“前进科罗拉多”起草的投票倡议进行游说活动上花费了超过860万美元。自2023年以来，四个保守派非营利组织——“前进科罗拉多”、“科罗拉多黎明”（Colorado Dawn）、“捍卫科罗拉多”（Defend Colorado）和“常识美国”（Common Sense America）——几乎占据了该州公民在投票倡议游说活动中报告的1000万美元支出的全部。

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.“Who’s funding that? Who’s behind this? Who stands to benefit?” she asked. “We have no idea.” 尽管“前进科罗拉多”财力雄厚，但它无需披露其资助者，这让诺迪尼对该投票提案背后的动机感到担忧。“是谁在资助它？谁在幕后操纵？谁会从中受益？”她问道。“我们一无所知。”

Oil and gas has historically held considerable political power in Colorado state politics. According to state lobbying disclosures, three oil and gas companies—Chevron, Civitas, and Kinder Morgan—collectively registered 21 lobbyists in the 2025 session, and industry groups registered at least another 16. The state’s three largest employers—the University of Colorado, Denver International Airport and Walmart—registered only eight total in the [text ends]. 石油和天然气行业在科罗拉多州的政治中历来拥有相当大的政治影响力。根据州游说披露信息，三家石油和天然气公司——雪佛龙（Chevron）、Civitas和金德摩根（Kinder Morgan）——在2025年会议期间共注册了21名游说者，行业团体至少又注册了16名。而该州最大的三家雇主——科罗拉多大学、丹佛国际机场和沃尔玛——总共只注册了8名。[原文结束]