R.I. needs a Green Amendment. It’s powerful protection for our environment.
June 16, 2025
Our legislators should establish constitutional rights to clean air and water, clean soil, and a stable climate, writes environmental advocate
Making a healthy environment a constitutional right has proven to be effective and equitable in other states. Rhode Island should do the same.
The 2025 Rhode Island General Assembly session features a proposal to amend Article 1 of the state Constitution. Apair of identical resolutions, S-327 and H-5732, called the “Green Amendment” would guarantee Rhode Islanders the right to a clean environment. The resolutions are sponsored by the chairpersons of the Senate and House Committees on Environment. If passed by both chambers, the resolutions will be presented to voters during the November 2026 general election. With their approval, the amendment becomes part of our Constitution.
Such a Green Amendment was added to the constitutions of Pennsylvania and Montana more than 50 years ago, and to New York’s in 2021. Since then, 29 more states, including Rhode Island, are now considering a Green Amendment. A national organization supporting this amendment — Green Amendments for the Generations — is led by Maya van Rossum, a Pennsylvania attorney and environmentalist. She used the amendment in 2013 successfully to block a proposed law that would have aggressively opened public and private land to “fracking.” The Montana Green Amendment convinced its Supreme Court to defeat a law promoting fossil fuel extraction.
Recognizing the power of constitutional rights for environmental protection, van Rossum set out to help other states create their own Green Amendments. Her work attracted the attention of the Green Teams of Peace Dale Congregational and St. Augustine’s Episcopal Churches here in Rhode Island. The teams collaborated with Senator Susan Sosnowski and Representative David Bennett to create Rhode Island’s Amendment with van Rossum’s assistance.
The Green Amendment establishes constitutional rights for all Rhode Islanders to clean air and water, clean soil, and a stable climate — similar to other such rights like free speech, due process, and property rights. The state will serve as a trustee for our natural resources, for the equitable benefit of all, for present and future generations. The Green Amendment harnesses the power of the Constitution to protect our environment from adverse commercial or government actions.
The Rhode Island Senate convincingly passed the Green Amendment on June 3 by a vote of 32 to 4.
Next, the House must pass its resolution. The House State Government Committee heard that bill on April 3 and still holds it for further study. The House leaders must call for a committee vote. With that approval, the full House can pass the resolution, after which a majority of the state’s voters can successfully amend the Constitution. Unless both chambers pass the resolution in the current session, we will have to begin again next January. Now is the time to do it.
The Environment Council of Rhode Island strongly supports the Green Amendment as effective environmental protection. We think it has an excellent chance of winning the popular election and becoming part of our Constitution.
A recent Pew Research poll indicates that 70 percent of Rhode Islanders support stricter environmental regulations. In that spirit, the Green Amendment will help Rhode Islanders resist threats to our environment now and for years to come.
Peter Trafton is co-vice president for policy at the Environment Council of Rhode Island, a coalition of organizations and individuals collaborating for over 50 years to protect and improve the environment.
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