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Protect Colorado called the deal a win for all Coloradans. “Now is the time for Colorado to come together,” the group said in a July 24 statement. “We will continue to do our part to help Colorado’s communities thrive and grow, to provide good jobs for Coloradans, and to be a cornerstone in rebuilding the economy we share.”

“Today, [Protect Colorado] presented boxes of signatures from Coloradans who support consumer choice for natural gas and ballot cost transparency. The display of support comes nearly one week after the industry’s deal with Gov. Jared Polis to avoid oil and natural gas ballot battles.”

“Now is the time for Colorado to come together. We appreciate the Governor’s call to allow time for SB 181 to be implemented properly and thank him for his commitment to oppose divisive and expensive ballot fights for the next two years… We will continue to do our part to help Colorado’s communities thrive and grow, to provide good jobs for Coloradans, and to be a cornerstone in rebuilding the economy we share.”

“Therefore, as governor, I will actively oppose ballot initiatives related to oil and gas extraction in 2020 and 2022 from both sides…. Let’s give SB181 a chance to work, and let’s see the full effects of the law instead of returning to the same old ballot box wars that this legislation was designed to avoid.”

Protect Colorado has collected more than 140,000 signatures for each of its proposed initiatives for the upcoming November 2020 ballot. In order to qualify for the November 2020 ballot, Protect Colorado must submit 124,632 valid signatures to the Secretary of State’s office by August 3, 2020. We will continue to gather signatures by following the constitutionally-mandated process.

“The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against the governor and his executive order to make it easier to get citizen initiatives on the ballot during the pandemic. In a decision released Wednesday, the court reversed a district court ruling and said petitions for ballot measures have to be signed in person.”

“In the ruling handed down Wednesday morning, the state’s highest court said, ‘[T]he Colorado Constitution requires that ballot initiative petitions be signed in the presence of the petition circulator. That requirement cannot be suspended by executive order, even during a pandemic. We therefore reverse the order of the district court and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.’”

The Colorado Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Gov. Jared Polis’ effort to allow signatures for ballot initiatives to be gathered by email and mail, saying that the Democrat does not have the power to suspend a requirement in the state’s constitution even in a disaster emergency like the coronavirus crisis.

“The pandemic reminds us we never know what our state will face in the future. Reliable, affordable, and abundant energy is the foundation of a functioning society in any crisis. Natural gas is vital to our state. Voters must continue countering these dangerous and irresponsible attacks on the energy industry by supporting initiatives 284 and 304. Sign these petitions, get these measures on the ballot, and vote them into law.”

“This is not the time to open the door to unintended consequences, including the possibility for fraud,” Protect Colorado said. “The power to change the constitutionally-mandated signature-gathering process lies with the Colorado legislature, not the governor. If Governor Polis wants to change the way Coloradans choose ballot measures, we urge him to go through the legislature.”