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This November, Colorado voters face a measure that seeks to change the state constitution to create an unprecedented constitutional “right” specifically for the purchase and sale of natural gas. The two-sentence ballot measure gives natural gas a constitutional protection that no other industry has, and at the expense of our air and water, public health and safety, and energy affordability.

Amendment 82 is a dangerous attempt to give corporations the “right” to pollute. It threatens the commonsense public health and safety controls across our state, with no regard for the cost of energy for Colorado families.

Amendment 82, titled the “Constitutional Right to Purchase and Sell Natural Gas,” would change the state constitution to establish rights to purchase natural gas for cooking and heating in homes and businesses, and for monopoly utilities and distributors to sell it. 

It sounds simple, and that’s where the danger lies.

First of all, buying and selling natural gas is already legal in Colorado. So that’s not what this amendment is really about. Amendment 82 is driven by the right-wing group Advance Colorado, which does not disclose its donors, to give the natural gas industry distinct and broad constitutional power — something no other corporate interest has. 

Amendment 82 creates a new and powerful legal weapon that corporations could use to challenge existing or future rules meant to protect our health, safety, wallets and energy innovation. For example, a gas company could argue that mandatory distances between fracking operations and homes and schools infringe on its “constitutional right to sell gas.” Or a monopoly utility could argue that its constitutional “right to sell” means the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) can’t regulate how much it makes consumers pay for gas infrastructure for massive new data centers.

Advance Colorado is trying to use our state constitution to stop people and communities from holding the natural gas industry accountable. And it will cost all of us.

Don’t let the corporate talking points fool you. The stakes for the election on Nov. 3, 2026 couldn’t be higher. Passing Amendment 82 could unleash severe consequences on our communities.

• Air and water pollution: Monopoly utilities and gas distributors will have legal power to challenge vital environmental regulations, threatening our clean air and water protections.
• Public health and safety hazards: From pipeline safety to the quality of the air in our homes, this amendment could tie regulators’ hands in favor of corporations.
• More expensive energy: Colorado families could bear the costs of expanding and maintaining natural gas wells, pipelines and other infrastructure that doesn’t even benefit them — like new gas facilities needed to serve large-load data centers.
• Silencing local communities: Cities and towns could face new limits on their ability to enact and enforce local energy policies that respond to their own public health, environmental and climate needs.

Putting a single industry into Colorado’s state constitution isn’t about our rights — it’s about locking in permanent polluter profits.

We can’t afford to let a radical proposal of this magnitude slip quietly into our constitution. We have until election day on Nov. 3, 2026 to defeat this reckless measure — and we cannot do it without you.

Corporate interests may have the funding, but we have the numbers. Here is how you can fight back and spread the word right now:

1. Share the news: Tell your friends and family. Make sure the people in your network know to vote NO on Amendment 82 to protect our clean air and water and keep corporate profit-making out of our constitution. 
2. Commit to vote: Make your voice heard. Check your voter registration, track your mail-in ballot this October and vote NO on Amendment 82.
3. Learn more about the campaign opposing 82 at no82.org. 

Amendment 82 would lock us into an energy system with serious consequences for our environment, health and communities. Let’s not let it happen. Spread the word, protect our health and safety, fight for energy affordability and vote no on Amendment 82!

Want to know where Conservation Colorado stands on other key ballot measures this year? Check out our 2026 Voter Guide to learn more about the 2026 measures that matter most for our environment and communities.

Paid for by Conservation Colorado.