98,500 Valid Colorado Voter Signatures Due in 60 Days

Three Colorado Ballot Proposals would stop or limit oil and gas production in 2016

Photo: Oil & Gas 360

While a November voter approval for a proposed Colorado constitutional amendment posed by initiative #78 would effectively put an end to new shale development activities in the state, there are two other initiatives that could significantly nibble away at oil and gas development should they receive the required signatures and gain approval of voters in November. A review of the process at the Colorado Secretary of State’s office shows all three anti-oil and gas ballot initiatives are in the signature gathering stage.

#78

Initiative #78, “Mandatory Setback from Oil & Gas Development,” which proposes a 2,500-foot setback for new oil and gas facilities via a proposed constitutional amendment, made news last week because of a Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission internal study that concluded that if #78 passes, about 90% of the state would be excluded from new oil and gas drilling and fracturing, essentially putting an end to shale development in the state.

Two other initiatives that could hamper Colorado oil and gas operators are #63 and #75, both of which have had their petition formats approved by the Sec. of State.

#63

Initiative #63 “Right to Healthy Environment” proposes to add a Section 32 to Article II of the Colorado constitution declaring that “(1) The people of the State of Colorado find and declare that a healthy environment is an essential component to the health, safety and welfare of natural persons.”

The proposed Section 32 goes on to say that “(4) State and local governments and their agencies shall assign the highest priority to the protection of a healthy environment. (5) All local governments have the power to enact laws, regulations, ordinances and charter provisions that are protective of a healthy environment. If any state law or regulation addresses the same topic as any local law, regulation, ordinance or charter provision enacted or adopted pursuant to this article, the law, regulation, ordinance or charter provision that is more protective of a healthy environment shall govern.”

This proposed amendment would serve to open the regulation of oil and gas activities like hydraulic fracturing to the laws and regulations of local governments if the local law is “more protective of a healthy environment.” Currently all oil and gas regulation is written and enforced by the State of Colorado. So if a city, town, municipality or county passes a law that bans fracturing in order to be “protective of a healthy environment,” then whichever law is more protective of a healthy environment would prevail—the state’s or the local government.

#75

Initiative #75, “Local Government Control of Oil and Gas Development,” is a proposal that would add Article XXX to the Colorado constitution.

Initiative 75 states that “(a) Oil and gas development, including the use of hydraulic fracturing, has detrimental impacts on public health, safety, general welfare and the environment,” and that “(c) the State of Colorado has a compelling interest to prevent and mitigate detrimental impacts on public health, safety, general welfare, and the environment and must not impede efforts by local governments to prevent and mitigate these detrimental impacts.”

The initiative goes on to say that local governments have broad authority to plan and regulate land use including limiting detrimental impact on their community and “(f) to preserve the public health, safety, general welfare, and the environment, the people desire to expressly grant to local governments the authority to prevent or mitigate detrimental impacts on public health, safety, general welfare, and the environment, without risk of state preemption, even if such acts impose restrictions on oil and gas development.”

The initiative states that local laws may be more restrictive than laws enacted by the general assembly or executive agencies of the state, and that local laws to mitigate local impacts from oil and gas development “are not subject to preemption by the state or an agency of the state, even if they conflict with a state statute, are more restrictive on oil and gas development than a state statute, and would materially impede a state interest in regulating oil and gas development.”

Proposed initiative #63 was filed Jan. 8, 2016. Initiatives #75 and #78 were both filed Jan. 21, 2016. According to the Secretary of State’s records, sponsors of initiatives #63, #75 and #78 are Bruce Mason and Karen Dike. Dike is a blogger for an organization called Coloradoans Against Fracking.

Initiative #138 would Amend Constitution to Establish COGCC/State as Primary Oil & Gas Regulators

A fourth oil and gas initiative is #138, “Local Regulation of Oil and Gas Development.”  This initiative seeks to add an Article XXX to the state constitution as well.

The wording states that “(Section 1) responsible, balanced development, production and utilization of oil and gas is critical to the state’s economy and a matter of statewide concern.”

The initiative’s Section 2 states that “Municipalities, home rule cities, home rule counties, counties and cities and counties may enact and enforce local laws, regulations, ordinances, resolutions or charter provisions regulating oil and gas development or operations that are no more restrictive than nor conflict with regulations adopted by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission or any executive department of the state or laws enacted by the Colorado General Assembly.”

The Secretary of State’s website lists the status as “Title Set.”

Results for Proposed Initiative #138:  The title as designated and fixed by the Board is as follows:

“An amendment to the Colorado constitution stating that local governments may enact and enforce local laws and regulations concerning oil and gas development or operations so long as the laws and regulations are no more restrictive than, and do not conflict with, state laws or regulations.

“The ballot title and submission clause as designated and fixed by the Board is as follows:

“Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution stating that local governments may enact and enforce local laws and regulations concerning oil and gas development or operations so long as the laws and regulations are no more restrictive than, and do not conflict with, state laws or regulations?

“Hearing April 20, 2016: Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set. Hearing adjourned 3:30 PM.”

Initiative #138 was filed April 8, 2016. According to records of the Secretary of State, sponsors of the proposed initiative are Shawn Martini and Scott Prestidge.

Timeline for Petitions

Signed petitions are due in the Secretary of State’s office by August 8, 2016 for signature verification and counting.

According to Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, here are the key dates to watch:

Critical Upcoming Dates:

  • August 8: Last day to submit signatures to Secretary of State; number of valid signatures needed: 98,492
  • September 7: Last day for Secretary of State to determine sufficiency of signatures
  • November 8: Election day

The information table below relating to all four initiatives was reproduced from the Colorado Secretary of State’s website. The links are to specific information referenced on that website.

63 Right to Healthy Environment February 3, 2016, 9:30 AM – Rehearing
Motion for Rehearing granted only to the extent that the Board made changes to the titles; denied in all other respects. Hearing adjourned 11:23 AM.January 20, 2016, 9:00 AM
Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set. Hearing adjourned 12:28 PM
Title set

View full result

View timeline
75 Local Government Authority to Regulate Oil and Gas Development February 17, 2016, 9:30 AM – Rehearing
Motion for Rehearing granted only to the extent that the Board made changes to the titles; denied in all other respects. Hearing adjourned 10:33 AM.February 3, 2016, 9:30 AM
Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set. Hearing adjourned 12:21 PM.
Title set

View full result

View timeline
78 Mandatory Setback for Oil and Gas Development February 17, 2016, 9:30 AM – Rehearing
Motion for Rehearing denied except to the extent that the Board made changes to the titles. Hearing adjourned 11:25 AM.February 3, 2016, 9:30 AM
Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set. Hearing adjourned 1:47 PM.
Title set

View full result

View timeline
138 Local Regulation of Oil and Gas Development April 20, 2016, 8:30 AM
Single subject approved; staff draft amended; titles set. Hearing adjourned 3:30 PM.
Title set

View full result

View timeline

 

 

 


Legal Notice