In May 2019, as Democrats in the Colorado General Assembly advanced a bill launching the state’s efforts to ensure a “just transition” for coal workers impacted by the shift to clean energy, Republicans were incensed.
In a tense, late-night floor debate over House Bill 19-1314, which created a new Office of Just Transition in the state’s labor department, Senate Republicans called the legislation “laughable” and “offensive.” It was an “insulting and egregious bill.” Senator Bob Gardner, a Republican from El Paso County, advised Democratic lawmakers traveling to the communities impacted by the bill to “leave town pretty quickly,” because “your welcome might be pretty short.”