Colorado House Rejects Drill-Limit Penalties

DENVER (AP) - Democrats in the Colorado House have rejected a proposal to penalize communities that ban the drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The vote Wednesday comes as the GOP Senate voted recently in favor of a similar proposal.

The votes show that Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature remain far apart when it comes to local communities limiting or banning fracking.

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Lawmakers from both parties are staking out positions in advance of a Friday report from a task force reviewing Colorado's oil and gas regulations.

The task force will recommend that local governments be given a consulting role on some decisions about the location of large oil and gas facilities. But the panel won't suggest that cities and counties be allowed to enforce their own rules.

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