Polis signs order aimed at lowering Colorado gas prices

The action

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order intended to help lower gas prices. The action places fuel costs within the administration’s energy and environment policy work and makes lower prices the stated objective.

Polis took the action in his role as governor. It is not directly connected to an election, a candidate race or a campaign platform. No candidates are linked to the development, so the order is a matter of state policy rather than electoral competition.

The wording of the goal is important: the order is meant to help lower prices. That does not mean the act of signing it guarantees a particular price reduction at Colorado gas stations.

What the order means for drivers

The signing confirms what Polis wants the executive action to accomplish. The practical effect will depend on the order’s directives, how those directives are carried out and whether they affect retail fuel prices.

A change in posted gas prices would be a result, while the executive order is the policy action. Those are separate steps, and the order’s stated purpose should not be treated as proof that prices have already fallen.

The next points to examine are the responsibilities assigned under the order, any implementation schedule and how its effect will be measured. Changes at the pump after implementation would provide the clearest public measure of whether the action is meeting its stated objective.