Washington, DC – Today, Conservation Colorado announced the addition of ballot initiative 82 to the 2026 Dirty Dozen in the States because it would lock a permanent “right” for corporate polluters into Colorado’s constitution. This comes after the previously announced 12 state and local candidates were announced. Modeled after LCV Victory Fund’s federal Dirty Dozen, the Dirty Dozen in the States highlights 12 of the worst candidates in the nation at the state and local level. This year, Conservation Colorado took the rare step of adding a ballot initiative to the list. This is only the second time an initiative has ever been added, and makes for a rare Dirty “Baker’s” Dozen.

Colorado – Amendment 82 “Right to Natural Gas” 

Nominated by Conservation Colorado

This fall, Colorado voters will decide whether to make a permanent, radical change to the state constitution with disastrous and far-ranging consequences. The proposed “constitutional right to natural gas” threatens to overturn the bedrock health and safety protections on which residents and workers rely. If this ballot measure passes, corporate polluters will be able to sue state and local governments over rules meant to hold them accountable, such as regulation of toxic water pollution and safe distances between gas operations and homes and schools. Colorado is a national leader on climate policy; this change would rapidly reverse hard-fought climate wins and prohibit future progress.

Amendment 82 is backed by a conservative interest group that has repeatedly violated campaign finance law by failing to disclose who funds them or how they spend their money. And they won’t stop at Colorado: if their campaign is successful, other states will follow. Defeating this ballot measure is imperative to protect our communities, preserve our momentum, and send a clear message that Colorado voters want accountability – not a constitutional guarantee for corporate polluter profits.

About Dirty Dozen

The over 30 state Conservation Voter Movement partners worked to determine the 2026 “Dirty Dozen in the States.” The candidates named are some of the most anti-affordability, anti-environment, and anti-democracy politicians running in competitive state-level races from governor to city officials and everywhere in between. These are chosen regardless of party affiliation and are running in races prioritized by LCV state affiliates in the Conservation Voter Movement. 

The “Dirty Dozen in the States” is modeled after LCV Victory Fund’s “Dirty Dozen,” which has targeted candidates for federal office (with occasional exceptions)— regardless of party affiliation — who consistently side against the environment, and are running in races in which LCV Victory Fund has a serious chance to affect the outcome. 

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Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.