On Monday, when Democrats sent House Bill 1351 to Gov. Jared Polis’s desk, they hoped to sweep two truths under the rug by delaying the start of their new gas tax.

First, this election year, they want you to forget that they passed it – that it is their new gas tax. Second, Democrats desperately want to conceal their own role in exacerbating inflationary pressures and jacking up energy prices.

Last year, I warned about the coming, unconstitutional “fees” Democrats were set to pass on Uber and Lyft rides, Amazon deliveries, diesel fuel, gasoline and more. Senate Bill 260 was ostensibly to pay for infrastructure improvements.

“Democrats know voters won’t approve a gas tax hike, or a new tax on delivery services or ridesharing rides, so instead they’ll manufacture a new ‘fee’ without ever pitching the idea to us,” I wrote, noting the means they’d chosen was a “runaround” of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR constitutionally requires a taxpayer vote on new taxes or tax increases).

“It’s hard to see what makes this fancy new gas ‘fee’ any different from the gas tax we already pay,” I added. “If we’re being honest, the only real distinction is that, by calling it a ‘fee,’ politicians don’t have to ask their constituents to vote on it.”

As CoPo reported Monday, proponents of HB1351 claim they’re “trying to locally respond to changing global conditions since SB21-260 passed last year.”

Let’s be serious: When the transportation bill was passed, we were already struggling to escape the pandemic pain. They intentionally ignored economic realities to pass the tax in the first place.

Republicans like Sen. Paul Lundeen have pointed out how “purely political” the gas tax delay really is. “I voted against the fees in the first place,” he said. “I don’t think they should be here.”

Democrats are pushing off their own tax – one they circumvented the state constitution to approve, no less – by one year, so that it isn’t implemented until after a pivotal election.

Furthermore, by delaying their new gas tax while the gas pump sucks wallets dry, Democrats hope to dodge blame for gas hikes. Democrats refuse to accept culpability in higher prices at the pump and home energy bills. Instead, they blame the very industry they keep assailing.

“There are unused permits in Colorado right now. Investment went down because prices went down,” Sen. Chris Hansen claimed. “And oh, by the way,” the Denver Democrat added, sarcasm dripping, “there’s this little thing going on in Ukraine right now, you might have heard of it. It’s caused massive disruption to the global oil market.”

In other words, it’s industry’s fault – and “Putin’s price hike.” The very policymakers who’ve controlled state government for years bear no responsibility. Yet to believe a word he says, we must first disregard the many bills Democrats have passed or are about to pass that will inevitably cause even greater spikes in energy prices.

The laundry list includes SB-138, SB-193, HB-1244, HB-1345, HB-1348, HB-1361 and HB-1362, among others. Several of these bills are ostensibly for the purposes of air-quality improvements, yet they are superfluous measures that will inflict even more harm on Colorado’s crucial energy industry.

Others compound more reporting requirements and complex regulatory schemes that will inevitably boost energy prices. More regulation is not necessary to protect public health and the environment.

Bear in mind, too, that oil and gas has already been subjected to brutal beatings in recent years amid Colorado Democrats’ Green Little Deal. After voters soundly rejected the Polis-funded anti-fracking ballot measure (Proposition 120), the governor rammed SB19-181 through the legislature.

That bill established a drastically more restrictive regulatory regime for an already hyper-regulated industry. It empowered the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and local governments to put a chill on permits on state and private land in Colorado.

Hansen’s permit mention echoes the Biden administration’s claims that industry is sitting on oil leases. This is deceptive: Leases are often held up waiting for government approvals or environmental litigation to finish. In fact, according to recent federal data, Colorado has a low number of approved permits relative to neighbors Wyoming and New Mexico.

Moreover, oil and gas companies make investment decisions looking out five to 10 years. If the regulatory environment disfavors the massive, long-term investment needed to boost production, it won’t happen. Finally, gas prices were already increasing before Russia invaded largely because of anti-energy policies, without which we would be far more capable of weathering the storm.

Recently, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released a survey on oil and gas expansion. Buried within the survey was a disturbing response from a Coloradan.

“My business has changed drastically due to the hostile political situation in Colorado toward the oil and gas industry. In the first quarter of 2021, I divested all properties in the state of Colorado due to the unbelievably hostile and increasingly aggressive regulatory environment driven by anti-fossil-fuel ideology,” the unnamed individual wrote, his frustration palpable.

“This has created an unstable and unpredictable place to do business in Colorado. The administrative state, driven and encouraged by the governor and legislature, has been given carte blanche to become judge, jury and executioner of the oil and gas industry.”

But hey, at least Colorado Democrats delayed the gas tax and get to blame Putin’s price hike, right?

Jimmy Sengenberger is host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6-9am on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts “Jimmy at the Crossroads,” a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner.