What is a Green Amendment?
Green Amendments are self executing provisions added to the bill of rights section of a constitution that recognize and protect the rights of all people, including future generations, to pure water, clean air, a stable climate, and healthy environments.
What’s Happening in New Jersey?
March 11, 2024, the New Jersey Green Amendment secured a hearing before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. On March 14, 2024 the Committee voted — 3 yea; 1 nay; 1 abstain — to release the amendment from committee so it could advance to advance through the process!
As proposed the New Jersey Green Amendment would read:
Article 1 will be amended to add…
- Every person has a right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, a safe climate and ecologically healthy habitats, and to the preservation of the natural and scenic qualities of the environment. The State shall not infringe upon these rights.
- The State’s natural resources, among them its waters, air, flora, fauna, climate, and public lands, are the common property of all the people, including both present and future generations. The State shall serve as trustee of these resources, and shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all people.
- This paragraph and the rights stated herein are (1) self-executing, and (2) shall be in addition to any rights conferred by the public trust doctrine or common law. Nothing in this paragraph shall abrogate the Rules of Court that prohibit the filing of frivolous claims.
To learn more about how the New Jersey Green Amendment will help to provide essential protections for New Jersey’s environment, for environmental justice, for addressing the climate crisis and for protecting present and future generations check out the Resources Page of this website.
A little bit of history:
The NJ Green Amendment was first proposed during the lame duck session in December 2017. It then received a hearing before the Senate Environment Committee in 2018 and was passed with bi-partisan and majority support. You can also view this 6 minute clip of the 2018 hearing on the amendment – the testimony is interesting, insightful and educational.
In the following 5 1/2 years the amendment sat with no further consideration. In response, on June 16, 2022, organizations and residents from New Jersey joined with legislative champions to urge the NJ legislative leadership to schedule hearings in the Assembly and Senate on the NJ Green Amendment. Watch the press conference here.
Finally, on March 11, 2024 the amendment got another hearing before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and on March 14 it passed out of committee by majority vote. (3 yea, 1 nay, 1 abstain).
Please check out our Take Action page to see how you can make your voice heard and the opportunities moving forward by which you can get active and engage.
