All four oil and gas related ballot initiatives have officially been withdrawn and will not appear on Colorado’s fall ballot, Coloradans for Responsible Reform said Tuesday afternoon.
Signatures for measures were submitted Monday, but as part of a compromise brokered by Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis — who backed two of them — the initiatives were withdrawn from the Colorado Secretary of State.
Initiative 88, which would have amended the state constitution to require a 2,000-foot setback between homes and oil and gas operations, Initiative 89, which would have added an environmental bill of rights, were supported by Polis. Initiative 121, which would have withheld oil and gas revenues from communities that ban fracking, and Initiative 137, which would have required a fiscal note for all citizen ballot measures, were backed by industry.
The measures were at the heart of a costly political battle over whether local governments should have more control over oil and gas activity in Colorado, which is managed by the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
The deal announced Monday also calls for the state to withdraw its lawsuit against the City of Longmont, which passed zoning ordinances limiting oil and gas activity in residential areas.
The governor also will convene an 18-member panel to review state regulations and make recommendations to the legislature during the 2015 session.
“This is the result everyone wanted,” CFRR campaign director Rick Reiter said in a news release. “CFRR wants to acknowledge that we could not have arrived at this point without the resolve and perseverance of Governor John Hickenlooper. He should be commended for his leadership.”
