Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry prides itself on working with both Democrats and Republicans in growing our economy, protecting our environment, and providing jobs and opportunity to the hard-working people of our state.

That is why it was so unfortunate to see Colorado House Majority Leader KC Becker throw her support behind Proposition 112 last week. Proposition 112 is an effort on the part of environmental extremists to ban energy production in a vast majority of the state, effectively crippling Colorado’s economy.

Majority Leader Becker’s rationale for supporting the proposition was curious. In a series of tweets, she responded to fairly straightforward questions from an energy analyst with surprising invective toward the natural gas and oil industry. Here’s one:

“We have been trying for years to work with (the natural gas and oil industry) and have gotten nowhere. I don’t understand why they keep jeopardizing their own industry with total uncompromising position (sic). They say no on orphan wells, setbacks, transparency, more inspections, severance tax fix, etc.”

This is simply not true, and for what it’s worth, the majority leader knows I am a phone call away. The natural gas and oil industry has played an active role in promoting bipartisan legislation in Colorado for decades. I hope Becker has not forgotten our partnership to reform Colorado’s pooling laws, signed into law in June. Similar measures had met their demise in previous legislative sessions, but this year, both parties came together in partnership with the energy industry and the governor’s office to get it across the finish line.

Likewise, during this year’s session, Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass House Bill 1098, a bill that helps to improve financing for the remediation of oil and gas locations once work on the sites have been completed. The measure sailed through the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Hickenlooper, also a Democrat.

Becker’s claim that the industry “(says) no on orphan wells” is equally false. I would know, as I stood at Gov. Hickenlooper’s side in July when he signed an executive order to fast-track the disclosure and clean-up of precisely those wells, an effort driven by the industry because our top priority is the health and safety of the communities in which we operate.

On the subject of severance tax, Colorado’s natural gas and oil industry plays an indispensable role in the state economy. In 2014 alone, the industry contributed $330 million in severance tax, up from $135 million in 2012, along with $1.2 billion in overall public revenue. For its part, the industry supports 232,900 Colorado jobs and has an annual economic impact of over $31 billion.

Becker also fails to account for how much of these economic and tax contributions would disappear should Proposition 112 pass. According to a recent study from the Common Sense Policy Roundtable, the measure’s passage would cost Colorado over $230 million in tax revenue in its first year, with the number growing to $1 billion annually by 2030. Unfortunately, 147,800 jobs would be lost by 2030, a total that the Common Sense Policy Roundtable notes is “almost as many jobs as in all of Douglas County.”

By supporting Proposition 112, Majority Leader Becker is siding against both major party candidates for Colorado governor, as both Democrat Jared Polis and Republican Walker Stapleton have come out against the proposition. This is a horrible measure in more ways than a calculator can provide. If passed, the economic toll would be staggering. Quality of life in entire communities could be ruined. Restaurants, hardware stores, and countless other businesses could be forced to shutter in the communities served by the natural gas and oil industry. Public revenue would plummet, hurting teachers, first responders, and other public employees.

The natural gas and oil industry seeks to partner with government at every level across Colorado to advance safe, responsible energy development. Our members willingly operate in one of the most robust regulatory environments in the country and still provide jobs and unprecedented opportunity to communities throughout the state. That’s something we are immensely proud of, and it’s something we’re going to fight to protect.

To the extent that the industry is “uncompromising,” Majority Leader Becker is correct in one respect: we refuse to stand idly by and allow Proposition 112 to destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Coloradans and the communities that they call home.