Last week, discussions intensified around a special legislative session of the Colorado General Assembly focused on a local control statute that would lead U.S. Rep. Jared Polis to withdrawn the series of proposed statewide ballot measures focused on banning the oil and gas industry.
On Wednesday, the Colorado Concern Board of Directors met to discuss the legislative proposal that the Congressman viewed as acceptable, and following the discussion released a statement supporting the efforts of Governor Hickenlooper and other interested parties to continue working toward a bipartisan compromise that can pass the legislature and avoid a costly and divisive campaign.
Discussion and debate continues in earnest, and we will alert you as more information becomes available.
Below is the text of Colorado Concern's public statement:
COLORADO CONCERN APPLAUDS GOVERNOR'S WORK TO FIND LEGISLATIVE SOLUTION ON ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
Urges Continued Effort To Forge Bipartisan Compromise
(DENVER) -- Pat Hamill, Chairman of Colorado Concern and Chairman and CEO of Oakwood Homes, and Tamra Ward, President and CEO of Colorado Concern, issued the following statement encouraging a bipartisan agreement on legislation concerning oil and gas development in the state:
"We applaud Governor Hickenlooper and all those who have been working to forge a meaningful, bipartisan legislative solution on oil and gas development that will forestall a statewide initiative election this fall. The Governor's leadership in bringing widely divergent interests together has been invaluable. Compromise is never easy to achieve, but we encourage all parties to keep at it.
"As an organization of more than 100 CEOs focused on fostering economic growth in Colorado, we believe that the enactment of any of the current crop of proposed initiatives would be devastating to our economy and result in a massive loss of jobs. It would set Colorado's economic development and job creation efforts back decades.
"In contrast, a bipartisan legislative solution could be enacted soon and could be amended in future legislative sessions if necessary. A Constitutional amendment, such as are being discussed for this year's ballot, would be virtually impossible to amend much less repeal. We urge negotiations to
continue, and a Colorado compromise to emerge."
Should you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].