The surest sign that an oil and gas bill is about to be debated at the Capitol is the sea of “I ♥ energy” stickers affixed to lapels of well-tailored suits.

The energy lobby was out in full force Thursday to oppose a bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton. House Bill 1310, which is sponsored in the upper chamber by Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, would make it easier for property owners to sue drilling companies if their operations cause damage to property, including any damages tied to earthquakes caused by deep-earth injection of hydraulic fracturing waste water.

The House health committee voted along party lines 7-6 to send the bill to the chamber floor for a full vote after hours of testy back-and-forth. From the start, committee Chair Beth McCann, D-Denver, felt compelled to remind Salazar and members of the committee to stick to the topic on hand. They did not stick to the topic.

As the hearing stretched long into the night, General Assembly sergeants brought members of the committee pizza to snack on. In the meantime, participants ranged broadly in their comments on the relative merits of fracking, asking whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for the state and the country on balance.

Chambers of commerce, the Colorado Farm Bureau and energy advocacy groups charged that the bill was unfair. They celebrated fracking in Colorado as an economic boon. They said easing the burden of proof for lawsuits against oil and gas operations would kill jobs in the state. Former Rep. Ken Summers, who chaired the health committee during his time in the Legislature, spoke on behalf of the pro-energy Larimer Energy Action project.

“This bill would destroy a fundamental activity in Colorado’s economy for over 70 years,” he said. “This bill needs to be defeated because it’s bad for the industry. I can understand the argument that says ‘Why should it matter if injection wells and hydraulic fracturing isn’t creating earthquakes?’ This sends a message, and messages that are sent to industries do make a difference. (Companies) determine whether they’re welcome or not.”

For each oil and gas proponent who spoke, representatives of environmental groups and citizens who live in the state’s well-pocked gaslands spoke in favor of the bill. Some said the need for redress in the case of damages was desperate. Many opposed fracking in urban and suburban areas and others opposed fracking altogether.

“This bill is an important step in a much larger conversation about the burdens of impacted Coloradans when it comes to oil and gas development moving into their neighborhoods,” said Sara Loflin, executive director of the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans. “(The litany of complaints) indicate homeowners are bearing a continuous burden for many months, sometimes 10, 20, even 30 complaints for a single site. Colorado must begin to have the conversation, and House Bill 1301 is a much needed start for this conversation.”

Committee member Reps. J. Paul Brown, R-Ignacio, and Lois Landgraf, R-Fountain, led the Republican charge against the bill. They questioned the science that ties earthquakes and health issues to fracking. Rep. Steve Humphrey, R-Severance, said the bill would start a “litigationpalooza” in the state.

McCann, who is a lawyer, noted that the bill shifted the burden of proof to the defendant. Companies would have to prove they did no harm. That’s a problem, she said, but she voted in favor of the bill, saying she hoped Salazar would add amendments to address that issue.

Salazar announced late last year that he would pursue a bill to switch the burden of proof onto the drilling companies. He pointed to the plan to frack near bucolic Wadley Farms near Thornton as the impetus behind the bill.

The bill

— ramsey@coloradostatesman.com