DENVER — Gov. John Hickenlooper said in his State of the State address a month ago that he wants uniform regulations for oil and gas industries in all 64 Colorado counties. But an attempt to do that was shot down Thursday by legislators who said local control shouldn’t be surrendered to the state.

See a primer on oil and gas exploration in El Paso County here.

The measure, which died on a 4-1 vote in the Senate Local Government Committee, would have established in statute that state regulations trump local restrictions on oil and gas companies.

“Local governments should be in the equation,” said Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango. She joined with the committee’s three Democrats in voting against the measure.

El Paso County Commissioner Sallie Clark said the bill was unnecessary, and would have driven a wedge between the county and state. The two have been working together effectively on the county’s push to establish its own regulations. The county now requires oil companies to test water quality more often, along with new rules on transportation, emergency response and noxious weeds.

Read about El Paso County’s regulations here.

Clark said local governments should have at least some veto power over what happens in their communities.

“It’s important that local communities have some say over how things happen, but it has to be reasonable,” Clark said. “Counties need to have at least some ability to allay concerns of local folks.”

Colorado Springs City Councilman Val Snider  heads a city committee examining possible regulation of the energy exploration industry.

“This is encouraging,” he said when told the bill died. “We are opening up the doors to talking with the state, and figuring out how we can work together.”

The measure was at least the fourth bill related to drilling that has been defeated this year. Both Democratic and Republican proposals have been rejected.

The latest bill came after some Front Range communities have proposed moratoriums or new limits on where drilling could occur, instead of deferring to state regulations.

Local-state drilling conflicts are becoming more common as new technologies allow energy companies to look to new areas for possible drilling.

The Associated Press

This photo taken on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2012, shows a rig drilling for oil near a subdivision near Frederick, Colo. Oil and gas drilling in Colorado is no longer confined to the state’s most rural areas. Energy companies are moving to drill in populous Front Range communities prompting local planners to suggest regulations that energy companies complaints far exceed county authority. Politicians from both parties are calling for legislation clarifying that locals can’t set their own rules when it comes to drilling. Photo by ED ANDRIESKI, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ed Andrieski