OIL AND GAS BALLOT MEASURES FALL SHORT OF SIGNATURES
Denver—The oil and gas industry in Colorado is breathing a sigh of relief. Two ballot measures that aimed to add more limitations to drilling operations will not be on the November 8th ballot. According to Secretary of State Wayne Williams, both Initiatives 75 and 78 were rejected due to several forged signatures. Both citizen initiatives far exceeded the required 98,492 signatures however in a random sample of 5 percent of the signatures, Williams’ office says they both fell short of the required 110 percent threshold for validity. Initiative 75 would have given local governments more authority to regulate drilling activities like fracking while Initiative 78 aimed to extend mandatory setback limits for drilling from 500 to 25-hundred feet. Garfield County officials were the most concerned about the setback proposal, saying it would’ve been an economic disaster and put the county out of business. Supporters of both proposals have 30 days to appeal today’s decision to the Denver District Court.
COLORADO HUNTERS AND ANGLERS PREPARED TO PAY MORE
Undated—Hunters and anglers in Colorado seem to be unfazed at the prospect of paying a lot more for licenses. That’s what officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife are learning as they travel across the state to get support for a plan to double the prices for in-state hunting and fishing licenses. P and W officials say the extra money is needed to make up for skyrocketing costs and budget cuts. Since 2009, the state has slashed some 40 million dollars and done away with 50 jobs. 10 million dollars was cut last year alone. The prevailing attitude among sportsmen is they are willing to pay a little extra money for licenses to help preserve and strengthen a multi-billion dollar a year industry.
