In less than three weeks, the Democrat-controlled legislature passed one of the most over-reaching pieces of legislation in the history of Colorado – without a single GOP vote – to regulate put out of business the oil and gas industry in Colorado. While there were a few Democrat defectors, this bill, passed yesterday, was driven by Democratic leadership.
Not only was this piece of legislation devoid of a single GOP vote, but the legislation was shoved through with minimal stakeholder input as is customary, especially with a bill of this magnitude. To put this in perspective, it typically takes at least twice as long to get legislation through both chambers.
Now, the bill is headed to conference committee where elected officials in the legislature tell us it is expected that the amendments Democrats in the House allowed on the legislation to make the bill slightly less damaging to industry, although it’s still incredibly damaging, will be stripped by Senate Democrats by order of emperor liberal Gov. Jared Polis. While the Senate may be willing to carry Polis’ water, the more radical House is frustrated that Polis is interfering in their process. Separation of powers and all that.
Whether this bill gets through with the amendments is a test of how much power Jared Polis wields over the Democratic caucus. We hoped this bill wouldn’t get through at all, but since it has, we hope Democratic legislators have the willpower to stand up to Polis who typically is used to getting his way politically, at least, in Colorado.