In January 2023, the Connecticut House proposed a Green Amendment to its State Constitution. Referred to in the CT legislature as the Environmental Rights Amendment, House Joint Resolution No. 37 proposed by Rep. Mary Mushinsky adds to the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, a Section 21, to read as follows:
Sec. 21. Each person of the state of Connecticut shall have an individual right to clean and healthy air, water, soil and environment; a stable climate; and self–sustaining ecosystems; for the benefit of public health, safety and the general welfare. The state shall not infringe upon these rights. The state shall protect these rights equitably for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, tribal membership status, gender, socioeconomics or geography. The state, municipalities, and any political subdivision thereof, shall serve as trustee of the natural resources of Connecticut, among them being its waters, air, flora, fauna, soils, and climate; and shall conserve, protect, and maintain these resources for the benefit of all people, including present and future generations. The rights stated in this section are inherent, inalienable, and indefeasible, are among those rights reserved to the people, and are equivalent with all other inalienable rights. The provisions of this amendment are self–executing.
Resources
Curious what a Green Amendment is, what it does, and the transformational difference it can make for environmental protection and environmental justice?
- CT Green Amendment Overview – You Have a Right
- CT Green Amendment Key Points Of Impact & For Understanding resource
- To learn more about the values of having a state constitutional Green Amendment for environmental protection and environmental justice, check out our Resources page.
- To view the testimony submitted to the House Environment Committee for the Feb 27, 2023 hearing you can find it here.
Sign On In Support & Get Involved
- If you want to take steps to advance a Green Amendment in Connecticut, please sign the petition here!
- If you represent an organization and would like to be added to the list of those supporting the advancement of the Connecticut Green Amendment that will to provide highest constitutional protection to the environmental rights of all the people of the state, please sign on here.
Organizations already signed on in support include:
- Branford Garden Club
- Clean Water Action CT
- Climate Reality Project, Southern CT Chapter
- CT Alliance of Retired Americans
- CT Climate Crisis Mobilization (C3M)
- CT Alliance for Retired Americans
- CT NOFA: The Northeast Organic Farming Association
- CT Nurses United
- Foodshed Network
- Food and Water Watch
- Green Amendments For The Generations
- Green EcoWarriors
- Green Party of CT
- Hamden Alliance for Trees
- Hampton Green Energy Committee
- Hartford Monthly Meeting (Quakers)
- Moms United in East Haven/Mamas Unidas en East Haven
- New Haven Bioregional Group
- No More Dirty Power in Killingly
- Norwalk River Watershed Association
- Pollinator Pathway
- Portland Green Energy Task Force
- PT Partners
- Save the Sound
- Seaside Sounds Club
- Sierra Club CT
- The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut
- Windham-Willimantic NAACP Environmental Justice Committee
If you are interested in being an active part of the effort, have any questions, or would like to set up a speaking engagement, please get in touch with us.
