Stay informed on TABOR/ballot issues with coballot.com. More of the Polis administration's "local control" that's anything but? Stay balanced with this op ed.
An excellent resource for news on ballot issues from a conservative, TABOR-saving perspective.
I recently read that Natalie Menten (longtime friend and a big help in educating me personally about TABOR, the initiative process, and tax issues) started a website to help people track ballot issues.
It's linked below and I'd recommend signing up for updates. One really cool feature I found (signed up myself) is that you can filter all the way down to your home city. See the screenshot for where to click to sign up.
The information Ms. Menten has given me has always been solid and useful and I don't doubt that this site will give the same. It's also free or I wouldn't be telling you about it.
Highly recommended to add to either your list of bookmarks or email subscriptions. We all know the blindspot our media can have about these issues.
Add to your sources of information so you can stay fully informed and engaged.
https://www.coballot.com/
Will the Colorado Energy Office, CEO, (through the Assembly and/or the governor's auspices) be working on statewide land use policy for renewables?
So far, Will Toor, seems to be hinting that yes, but won't make with details.
The Assembly, as part of its work hold SMART act hearings (see the Secretary of State's page linked first below for more context if you want it) toward the start of the session, essentially to provide legislative oversight of the various departments in our state government.
The CEO had theirs recently. The director Will Toor was in the committee to present and while there was pressed by Senator Pelton regarding land use policy for renewables that might be coming out of the CEO.
This is an issue that Senator Pelton has pressed the CEO, the governor, and Toor on in the past. It's also something that he's spoken about up in my district.
The ability to have local regulation of renewables and transmission lines is important if you do not want the Front Range dictating yet more of your life, and if you don't want them having a free hand in how the renewables they want are put where you have to live with them.
The exchange between Pelton and Toor starts at 12:47:53 in the committee recording below.
If you listen to it, you hear an obligatory nod by Toor to the importance of local control and how that would be maintained, except ...
except with some "standardization" of decision making by the state. In other words, that the state would tell locals "you're free to decide as you'd like, but, of course, we'll tell you what things you need to base your decision on."
After all, with, to use Toor's words "but given the scale of renewable energy development in the state that some level of standardization and criteria would be useful."
To whom it would be, Toor didn't elaborate.
You know, hearing things like this, and having a brain with a memory that lasts longer than a couple weeks, I can't help but get an intuition for where this is headed.
Call me conspiratorial if you'd like, but I can't help but think this will be more of Governor Polis' patented "local control" like we had with COVID, gun control, etc.
I will keep my ears open for any updates as tangible policy comes out. I'll post as I have more.
https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/newsRoom/SMART-Act/index.html
https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00327/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20240117/-1/15070
As before, presented in the interest of balance.
Since we just glanced off the topic of renewables, and since I think it's important to read widely, I want to present the following to you in the interest of balance.
I'll step out of the way and let the author present his case sans comment.
Well, save for the following. Note how everything here is being tied up in one big bow. Electrification = Affordable Housing = Climate Sainthood. Expect more of this from the CEO and governor's office as they begin their push.
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/opinion/all-electric-affordable-housing-helps-coloradans-save-money-opinion/article_2360daec-b415-11ee-ba52-4b3d0fece15d.html