Colorado Energy Faces Legislative Assault as Citizens Learn Strategies to Counter Democrat Supermajority

On January 16, 2025, Bob Boswell, Karen Levine, Pam Long, and Paul Lundeen joined the show. Energy CEO exposes 23 TABOR-circumventing fees draining oil and gas development while expressing optimism about Chris Wright leading the Department of Energy under Trump Realtor reports market picking up with interest rates stabilizing at 6 West Point graduate analyzes 700 bills to identify effective resistance: organized opposition with economic evidence,. Natural Gas Under Siege in Colorado Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy, described Colorado’s regulatory environment as death by a thousand cuts. The Governor has circumvented the TABOR Act’s requirement for voter approval of tax increases by implementing 23 fees that drain hundreds of millions from energy development. “The latest one was affecting oil and gas production, where the fee on every unit of production that takes several hundreds of millions of dollars out of the ability to develop hurts the economics and further subverts monies that could be going to the counties.” Bob Boswell, Laramie Energy Boswell highlighted that Colorado is following California’s destructive path, where environmental policies contributed to the devastating fires by constraining utilities from improving infrastructure. The latest fee on oil and gas production diverts money from county development to fund a Front Range train system that western slope residents will never use. “On the western slope, over 70% of that land is federal, and the federal government has always looked at states’ rights and let states dictate certain elements of development, but they’ve completely overstepped on federal lands.” Bob Boswell, Laramie Energy Despite federal overreach from state policies affecting federal lands, Boswell expressed optimism about the incoming Trump administration. Chris Wright, founder of Liberty Energy and author of Bettering Human Lives, brings unparalleled engineering and policy expertise to energy leadership. Real Estate Market Update Karen Levine, RE/MAX Alliance realtor, reported that showings picked up after the Broncos’ playoff exit. Interest rates stabilizing around six and a half to seven percent represents the new normal. She highlighted construction defect reform as the Colorado Association of Realtors’ top priority. “I would say in the forefront of the realtor community, we’re going to be looking at and pushing for and advocating lobbying for construction defect reform.” Karen Levine, RE/MAX Alliance Without reform, developers cannot economically build condominiums for sale, eliminating the first rung of homeownership that many Coloradans need. Rising HOA fees, driven largely by soaring insurance costs, compound the affordability crisis. Three Strategies to Defeat the Supermajority Pam Long, West Point graduate and director of the Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter, analyzed last session’s 700 bills to identify effective resistance strategies against the Democrat supermajority. “A legal challenge can deter or halt an illegal tax, but can also deter many types of other bills which violate the rights of citizens.” Pam Long, Children’s Health Defense Military Chapter First, organized opposition with economic evidence defeated the 400% tax...