Denver council urges voters to reject natural-gas Amendment 82

Denver City Council adopted a proclamation Oct. 26 urging Colorado voters to reject Amendment 82, a Nov. 3 ballot measure addressing the right to buy and sell natural gas. All 11 members who voted supported the proclamation, according to the meeting video.

The proposed amendment would give consumers the right to buy natural gas for cooking or heating in homes and businesses, and distributors and utilities the right to sell it. The state’s official voter guide says the measure could limit state and local governments’ ability to enforce existing or future natural-gas regulations. It cites Crested Butte’s restrictions on gas appliances in new homes as an example of a local rule that could be affected.

Denver’s proclamation warns that the amendment could constrain the city’s authority over building codes and sustainability and energy policy. It also raises possible effects on water-quality protections, fracking rules, inspections and gas safety. The proclamation says utilities might use the measure to justify charging customers for pipelines, infrastructure or new hookups, and cites the Colorado Municipal League’s opposition over concerns about local discretion on energy-efficient codes.

Those are potential consequences, not outcomes established by the amendment. Its text does not expressly repeal local authority or say local rules are preempted. The voter guide’s fiscal analysis anticipates possible legal costs for local governments with codes that regulate or restrict natural gas; it does not establish that Denver’s rules would be struck down. The amendment’s effect on specific local rules remains unresolved.