May 30, 2013 08:28 AM UTC

New Report Details Pervasive Oil and Gas Influence in Colorado

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• by: Colorado Pols

Colorado Ethics Watch:

Colorado Ethics Watch released Spend, Baby, Spend: How Oil and Gas Controls Colorado, revealing the powerful influence this relatively small industry seemingly has on legislation and public officials in our state.

Spend, Baby, Spend breaks down direct and indirect spending by the oil and gas industry to influence Colorado politics, and points out the return on investment for these corporations – weakened or defeated legislation that would have strengthened water quality testing requirements and eliminated a system where the industry is regulating itself.  In fact, the industry has long been lightly regulated in Colorado, with fines for spills capped at $1000 per day.  In contrast, industry-friendly Texas allows fines ten times larger…

From that report's introduction:

Colorado’s oil and gas industry has been called “the state’s most powerful” and few would disagree. The industry has long presented itself as a key job creator and driver of Colorado’s economy. Certainly, the industry has benefited from regulations that are looser than even some historically friendly states like Texas and Pennsylvania. As it turns out, however, oil and gas development is a smaller portion of the state’s economy than most Coloradans would likely expect, given the industry’s power in Colorado political and policymaking arenas. This disparity may be explained by the industry’s robust and effective spending on elections and lobbying.

Read CEW's report in its entirety here.