Climate Reality Colorado / Denver

CO Climate Tracker

Interim

The Colorado legislature is not in session right now. Below are the climate-related items on this November's ballot.

How Colorado ends up voting on this

Colorado's constitution has grown enormously over the last century, not mainly through the legislature, but because Colorado is one of the easier states in the country for outside groups to amend the constitution directly. A group can write the amendment themselves, collect enough signatures, and put it straight to a statewide vote, without a single legislator ever agreeing it's a good idea. That path gives citizens real power, but it also means well-funded groups increasingly use it to lock in policy that might not survive the ordinary lawmaking process.

There are two kinds of measures on this year's ballot. A proposition changes the Colorado Revised Statutes, the ordinary body of law. It needs a simple majority to pass, and the legislature can change it again later. A constitutional amendment changes the state constitution itself. It needs 55 percent of the vote to pass, a bar set specifically to make constitutional change harder, and it is much more difficult to undo once in place.

Of the 14 measures on this year's ballot, three have a direct stake in climate and conservation. We cover all three below.

Proposition compared with amendment
	Proposition	Amendment
What it changes	The Colorado Revised Statutes, the ordinary body of law	The state constitution itself
Vote needed	Simple majority	55 percent
How hard to undo	The legislature can change it again later	Another statewide vote at the same 55 percent bar

How a measure reaches the ballot

01Written by a group
02Signatures collected
03Certified by the Secretary of State
04Voted on November 3

Ballot measures

3 active

Proposition 137

SupportVote yes

For Colorado Land and Water

Proposition 137 asks voters to redirect money the state already collects, sales tax on things like bikes, skis, tents, and hunting and fishing gear, away from a required refund back to taxpayers and toward land conservation and wildfire protection instead. It does not create a new tax or raise the price of anything you buy.

If it passes, it is projected to generate $175 to $180 million a year, with $83 to $85 million of that going to Great Outdoors Colorado, nearly doubling that program's funding, and the rest split across water and land conservation, wildfire mitigation, and outdoor access for families. As a statute, it only needs a simple majority, and the legislature could adjust it later if needed.

If yes: Sends this money to conservation and wildfire work.
If no: Sends it back to taxpayers as a refund, business as usual.

Type: Ballot measure (state statute)
Backed by: The Nature Conservancy, through the Vote Yes on Prop 137 committee
Passes with: Simple majority to pass

Where it stands

Certified for Ballot
On the Nov. 3, 2026 Ballot
Passed / Failed

Nonpartisan legislative analysis

Amendment 82

OpposeVote no

Right to Natural Gas

Amendment 82 asks voters to add a permanent right to buy and sell natural gas to the Colorado constitution. There is no law banning natural gas in Colorado today, this amendment responds to something that is not currently happening.

Colorado has committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and the Public Utilities Commission has approved a plan to cut emissions from natural gas delivery entirely by that year. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it needs 55 percent of the vote to pass, and undoing it later would require another statewide vote at that same high bar.

If yes: Writes a natural gas guarantee into the constitution.
If no: Leaves the state free to keep pursuing its existing emissions targets.

Type: Ballot measure (constitutional amendment)
Backed by: Advance Colorado
Passes with: 55 percent to pass

Where it stands

Certified for Ballot
On the Nov. 3, 2026 Ballot
Passed / Failed

Legislative Council ballot analyses

Amendment 83

OpposeVote no

Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish

Amendment 83 would add a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife by traditional methods. Hunting and fishing are already legal in Colorado and already regulated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Supporters say this guards against some future restriction. Opponents, including wildlife and conservation groups, worry it could limit the state's ability to adjust wildlife protections down the road, protections that generally work alongside climate and habitat goals. Like Amendment 82, this needs 55 percent to pass.

If yes: Locks the current hunting and fishing framework into the constitution.
If no: Leaves wildlife management exactly where it already sits, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Type: Ballot measure (constitutional amendment)
Backed by: International Order of T. Roosevelt, also supported by Advance Colorado
Passes with: 55 percent to pass

Where it stands

Certified for Ballot
On the Nov. 3, 2026 Ballot
Passed / Failed

Legislative Council ballot analyses

Nathaniel Stockwell, Legislative Chair, Climate Reality Colorado/Denver