New Mexico Road Runner

NEW MEXICO GREEN AMENDMENT

New Mexico Overview

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 Mexico?

walk 4 climate group picNew Mexico Green Amendment Advances in 2024

The New Mexico Green Amendment has been proposed for the 2024 Legislative Session.

The House Version is HJR4.  It will first be considered by the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee (HEENRC).  Next it will proceed to House Judiciary.

The Senate Version is SJR8.  It will first be considered by the Senate Rules Committee, and second by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

For smart strategic reasons they filed two slightly different versions, each reflecting different kinds of feedback received from New Mexico community members and fellow legislators. The goal of having two complimentary but slightly different versions is to see which version resonates best with New Mexicans.  Both versions were vetted with grassroots leaders, community members, environmental activists and legal experts before being filed in order to ensure the language of each reflected the vision and goals of the people of New Mexico.  Below you can find both versions.

The  goal is for the amendment to secure swift hearings and strong community testimony to inform the legislators about the power of community support for the amendment and the many reasons why it will effectively serve New Mexico’s present and future generations.

To get the most up to date notice on opportunities to engage – like testifying at a hearing – be sure to join the NM Green Amendment Online Action Community.

Learn More: To learn more about the value of the 2024 New Mexico Green Amendment proposal, find new and helpful information at our resources page.

Support for the Green Amendment Grows:  Organizations signing on in support of the New Mexico Green Amendment for 2024 continues to grow and diversify.

We need all voices -- individual and organization - to sign on to the coalition letter to ensure New Mexico government leaders fully understand, appreciate and support the values of a New Mexico Green Amendment.  The letter explains the amendments benefits and takes on the false messaging of industry.

  • Read the letter and add your name here.
  • Individuals and organizations are invited to sign.
  • Please share the letter and link with others in your community.
  • If your organization, rather than sharing the link, would prefer to put a version of this letter on your own website to collect signatures from your community that can later be submitted as part of the effort, email maya@forthegenerations.org and we can get you the text and coordinate efforts.

Now For The 2024 Language:

NM House Green  Amendment version:

SECTION 1. It is proposed to amend Article 2 of the constitution of New Mexico by adding a new:

  1. The people of the state shall be entitled to clean and healthy air, water, soil and environments; a stable climate; and self-sustaining ecosystems, for the benefit of public health, safety and general welfare. The state shall protect these rights equitably for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, tribal membership status, gender, socioeconomics, or geography.
  2. The state, counties and municipalities shall serve as trustee of the natural resources of New Mexico and shall conserve, protect and maintain these resources for the benefit of all the people, including present and future generations.
  3. The provisions of this section are self-executing. Monetary damages shall not be awarded for a violation of this section. This section is enforceable against the state, counties and municipalities.  

NM Senate Green  Amendment version:

SECTION 1. It is proposed to amend Article 2 of the constitution of New Mexico by adding a new:

  1. The people of the state shall be entitled to clean and healthy air, water, soil, native ecosystems, and environment, including a safe climate, for the benefit of public health, safety and general welfare. The state shall protect these rights equitably for all people regardless of race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, gender, socioeconomics, or geography.
  2. The state, counties and municipalities shall serve as trustee of the natural resources of New Mexico and shall conserve, protect and maintain these resources for the benefit of all the people, including present and future generations. The state, counties and municipalities shall not allow, through government action or inaction, the degradation, diminution, or depletion of the natural environment that is avoidable, contributes to significant or widespread environmental harm, or results in an unhealthy or unsustainable environment. 
  3. The provisions of this section are self-executing. Monetary damages shall not be awarded for a violation of this section. This section is enforceable against the state, counties and municipalities.  
Historic support for the NM Green Amendment has been diverse and growing.  The 2024 list of supporters is just now being developed. Meanwhile, here are the organizations signed on supporting New Mexico having a Green Amendment in 2023.

Getting the Word Out is key to Green Amendment success.  If you want to help us spread the word by organizing an in person or zoom talk please send an email to GAFTG@ForTheGenerations.org and we will work with you to set it up.

You can also help us demonstrate support for passage of a New Mexico Green Amendment by signing the petition today and be sure to share it with your friends. Read the petition and sign on here

History of the New Mexico Green Amendment to bring you up to speed:

2023

The New Mexico Green Amendment was once again proposed under the leadership of Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Representative Joanne Ferrary, with a growing list of cosponsors including Senator Shannon Pinto, Senator Harold Pope, Jr., Representative Tara Lujan, Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero and nearly 20 more. While the amendment did not make it all the way through the legislative process, it was the beneficiary of a robust hearing as well as a solid review by the Attorney General's office demonstrating the amendment was not scary and in fact would be value added for state environmental protections.

2022

2022 marked a key year of growth for constitutional environmental rights recognition in New Mexico.

On January 5, 2022,  House Joint Resolution 02/Senate Joint Resolution 02 -- a resolution to amend the New Mexico Constitution in order to add enforceable environmental rights -- was introduced by Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Representative Joanne Ferrary.

New Mexicans made powerful progress during the 2022 thirty day legislative session.  After 2 well attended hearings the amendment passed the through the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee by majority vote.  While the amendment was ultimately tabled by the House Judiciary Committee  which rendered it unable to make it through the entire legislative process in 2022, the number of legislative supporters, organizational supporters and grassroots supporters swelled as the session progressed. 

The NM Green Amendment was a featured item of discussion at the 2022 Walking 4 the Climate Rally held on MLK Day, which helped launch the legislative session. Weekly trainings, Q&A sessions, dissemination of  information sheets, and over 2,000 door hangers helped inform the conversation around advancing the Amendment. 

Legislative champions Representative Joanne Ferrarry and Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez led the effort at the legislative level and were met with great support from colleagues.  The 30 day session is short and there is a lot to be accomplished.  All supporters knew it would be a high hurdle going into the session, but were tremendously pleased with the progress.  Over 50 New Mexico organizations signed on in support of the NM Green Amendment. And while in 2021 the New Mexico Green Amendment had 5 legislative sponsors, by the end of the 2022 legislative session the amendment secured support from 26 official sponsors including: Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, Representative Joanne Ferrary, Senator Harold Pope, Jr., Senator Bill Soules, Senator Elizabeth “Liz” Stefanics, Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, Senator Carrie Hamblen, Representative Tara Lujan, Senator Shannon Pinto, Representative Debbie Sarinana,  Senator Linda Lopez, Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero, Senator Bill Tallman, Senator Jeff Steinborn, Representative Kay Bounkeua, Representative Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson, Representative Gail Chasey, Representative Miguel Garcia, Senator Roberto "Bobby" J. Gonzales, Senator Brenda McKenna, Senator Michael Padilla, Senator Nancy Rodriguez, Senator Benny Shendo, Representative Pamela Herndon, Representative Linda Serrato, and Representative Matthew McQueen.

NM Green Amendment legislative champions and supporters have already voiced their enthusiastic support to try again in 2023 when the session will be 60 days long and the NM Green Amendment will be starting from a hard-fought higher foundation of support.

Achieving a New Mexico Green Amendment is imminently doable. Upon securing just a majority vote in each of the legislative houses, the NM Green Amendment will be placed on the ballot for a vote of the people at the next election. While the Governor has the bully pulpit and could be using her voice in support, she does not have an official role in the constitutional amendment process.

2021

In the 2021 legislative session, a very similar amendment (only a few words difference) was the subject of a February 8, 2021 hearing and vote before the Senate Rules Committee who voted 7-4 in favor.  From there the amendment proceeded to the Senate Judiciary Committee where it unfortunately languished until the end of the legislative session because of the failure of Senator Cervantes to put it forth for hearing.

Not to be deterred, our legislative champions and growing coalition of organization supporters immediately started gearing up for the 2022 legislative session.  2023 education, outreach and organization is already underway.

More exciting news

On National Green Amendment Day 2021, the Doña Ana Board of County Commissioners stood in solidarity with many New Mexico organizations and passed a proclamation formally recognizing July 13 as Green Amendment Day.

Read the proclamation here and listen to Senator Carrie Hamblen's powerful remarks on the need for a NM Green Amendment particularly for BIPOC communities. Senator Hamblen is the CEO and President of the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce and serves as the state Senator for District 38.

New Mexico is being featured in The Green Amendment documentary series. You can read about the journey of interviews and filming in a 3 part reflection series written by our Founder, Maya van Rossum:

New Mexico is being featured in the Green Amendment Documentary Series.

Want to see a bit more about the beginning of our NM Green Amendment movement?  This video includes highlights of one of our earlier visits and how it all began.

 

National Green Amendments Movement

Find out where else we are working.

Learn more about Green Amendments For the Generations at forthegenerations.org.