Background

The Green Amendment would create an enforceable environmental right that would ensure environmental justice for all communities regardless of race, ethnicity, or income. It would help protect the water, air, and soil from pollution and contaminants in order to protect healthy lives and ensure that future generations may enjoy a healthy and clean environment.

The Washington Green Amendment was modeled after the Environmental Rights Amendment of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which was successfully used to challenge legislation that opponents argued weakened environmental protections in the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act.

Pennsylvania and Montana are the only states to currently have environmental rights amendments included in their constitutions, however, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and West Virginia are considering Green Amendments.

Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow) introduced a resolution to enact an amendment to the Washington state constitution, ensuring the rights of all Washingtonians to clean water and air, a stable climate and healthy environment.

What The Green Amendment will do

A Green Amendment recognizes and elevates our right to clean air and water and a stable climate to that same inalienable standard as the declaration of our inalienable rights, such as those of life, liberty, religious freedom, and free speech.

It will constitutionally require our state government officials and agencies to protect the health and rights of both present and future generations of residents.

• It will uphold the right to be free from government-sanctioned pollution of waterways and air.

• It will protect the right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air and soils, healthy ecosystems, a stable climate, and the preservation of natural, cultural, scenic and healthful qualities of the environment.

• The process to attain this highest level of constitutional protection requires that a two-thirds majority in each house of the Washington Legislature pass the proposed Green Amendment. The amendment must then be approved by a majority of voters in the next general election after appropriate public notice.

• A Washington Green Amendment prohibits government action that infringes on constitutional rights and/or violates constitutional obligations; as a result, enforcement actions apply to government action, and will not result in legal actions filed against private parties. 

The Green Amendment ensures that these rights and our state’s natural resources shall be equitably protected for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, geography, or wealth.

• It provides constitutional grounding for advocacy and ensures an opportunity to secure court intervention for addressing equitable protections of air, land, and water when needed.

• Since it is self-executing, a Green Amendment can help address harms that have not yet been addressed by existing legislation, regulation, policies, or programs.

• The Green Amendment can be used by Tribal governments and people to address state sanctioned, perpetuated or created pollution, and degradation activities that would violate the protected environmental rights of Indigenous people and fail to protect, conserve, and maintain the state’s natural resources in accord with the constitutional obligation. Indigenous populations have been disproportionately impacted by pollution and environmental degradation.

• BIPOC communities in Washington continue to be disproportionately targeted and impacted by environmental pollution and degradation. Creating an overarching constitutional right to be equitably protected is an essential tool for creating and supporting enforceable environmental justice. The Washington Green Amendment will ensure all communities – regardless of race, ethnicity, geography or wealth – have the same rights to clean and healthy environments and will create a constitutional duty on all government officials to protect natural resources and environmental rights equitably.
  

Bills we are tracking in this area

HJR 4210

The bill addresses adding a new section to the Washington state Constitution regarding the conservation and protection of the state's natural resources. It was first introduced in 2021 and was reintroduced in 2022.

• Referred to the House Environment & Energy Committee

• Hearing occurred on 2/4/24 in the E+E committee where 731 people signed in "pro" and 32 people signed in for testimony. The bill received a hearing but was not voted on.  We take the momentum forward into next year.