Basswood Pond in Otsego County. A constitutional amendment before voters this November would guarantee that every New Yorker “shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”
The State Legislature has passed a “Green Amendment” to the state Constitution, giving voters the ability to adopt it on Nov. 2, 2021 when it will appear as a ballot question.
The Senate and Assembly both passed S.528/A.1368, a bill that adds to Article 1, the Bill of Rights, of the New York State Constitution which states: “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”
Constitutional amendments require the bill to be passed by two consecutive legislatures before New Yorkers vote on the ballot question. In 2019, the bill passed both the Senate and Assembly and so the proposed amendment will be placed on the general election ballot for voters this November.
The legislation states that “Recent water contamination and ongoing concerns about air quality have highlighted the importance of clean drinking water and air as well as the need for additional protections.”
Several other states including Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Montana have constitutional protections in place to ensure access to clean air and water. This proposed constitutional amendment would follow those models and ensure that clean air and water are treated as fundamental rights for New Yorkers.
More than 70 environmental organizations sent a letter to the Legislature stating their support for a “Green Amendment” to the New York State Constitution to protect the environmental rights of the people of New York.
According to the letter sent to legislators, “Amending the Bill of Rights to recognize our right to clean water, clean air, and a healthy environment will drive better decision-making at all levels of government.
“In fact, a Green Amendment is a powerful and important tool for combating environmental racism and rebalancing the inequities communities of color and low-income communities have faced for decades being disproportionately exposed to and negatively impacted by hazardous pollution and industrial practices.”
After passing the Senate and Assembly, the bill was sent to the Secretary of State for review.
“Every year, more than 6,000 New Yorkers, many of them in environmental justice communities, die prematurely because of the polluted air they breathe,” said Eddie Bautista, the executive director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. “Enshrining a right to clean air and clean water into our state Constitution will help empower those who suffer the effects of pollution and be another tool in the toolbox for those seeking justice.”
Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Chair, Steve Englebright and Senator Robert Jackson sponsored the bill that, if enacted, would make environmental protections an inviolable right, alongside political and civil liberties.
“All New Yorkers should have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a healthy environment to live and work in,” said .Englebright, the chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee. “As the pandemic has vividly shown, our economy and our health are strongly linked.”
