UPDATED: The NJ Green Amendment Gains Momentum

The Sierra Club is encouraged that the Green Amendment, SCR 30/ACR 80, is gaining ground in the New Jersey Senate. The resolution now has 19 Senate sponsors, with Senators Lagana, Kean, Rice, and Schepisi being the latest to sign their names onto the measure this week. It also currently has 43 sponsors in the Assembly. In order to pass, the resolution would require 48 votes in the Assembly, and 24 in the Senate.

If placed on the ballot and passed in a referendum by New Jersey’s voters, the Green Amendment would amend New Jersey’s state constitution so that it grants every person in the state the right to a clean and healthy environment, and also require the State to protect public natural resources.

“The Green Amendment is one of the most important pieces of legislation in our state,” said Richard Isaac, Chair of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter. “Everyone should have the right to a clean and healthy environment and no community should bear disproportionate risks of harm because of their demographic characteristics or economic condition.”

The proposed amendment states, in part, that: Every person has a right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air and soil and ecologically healthy habitats, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and esthetic qualities of the environment. The State shall not infringe upon these rights, by action or inaction.

The amendment would also require the State to preserve public natural resources and to prevent others from destroying or damaging public natural resources.

“We are grateful that the Green Amendment is continuing to gain traction, with now 15 sponsors in the State Senate,” Isaac continued. “This amendment would not only provide a major tool to preserve and provide equal access to clean air, water and soil, it will also help us in our work to meet the looming climate change crisis.”

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.