DENVER (AP) — Supporters of tougher restrictions on the oil and gas industry in Colorado say they won’t appeal a ruling by the state’s top elections official that kept two proposed constitutional amendments off the November ballot.
The organizers said Wednesday they would instead work to defeat another proposal that would make it harder for voters to change the state constitution.
One of the two failed proposals would have required new wells to be at least 2,500 feet from homes and schools, up from 1,000 feet currently. The other would have given local governments authority to restrict or ban energy development, a power now held almost exclusively by state regulators.
The Secretary of State’s Office said last month the backers hadn’t turned in enough valid signatures to get the measures on the ballot.