New York Proposal 2, Environmental Rights Amendment (2021)

New York Proposal 2
Election date November 2, 2021
Topic Environment and Constitutional rights
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

2021 measures
November 2
New York Proposal 1
New York Proposal 2
New York Proposal 3
New York Proposal 4
New York Proposal 5
Polls
Voter guides
Campaign finance
Signature costs

New York Proposal 2, the Environmental Rights Amendment, was on the ballot in New York as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 2, 2021. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported adding a right to clean water, clean air, and a healthful environment to the New York Constitution's Bill of Rights.

A "no" vote opposed adding a right to clean water, clean air, and a healthful environment to the New York Constitution's Bill of Rights.

Election results

New York Proposal 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,129,051	70.12%
No		907,159	29.88%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this ballot measure add to the New York Constitution?

Proposal 2 added a right to clean water, clean air, and a healthful environment to the New York Constitution's Bill of Rights.

How was the constitutional amendment placed on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In New York, a constitutional amendment requires approval in two successive legislation sessions. Legislators approved the proposal in 2019 and 2021. On January 12, 2021, the state Senate voted 48 to 14 to approve the amendment. Senate Democrats supported the proposal, and Senate Republicans were divided 6 to 14. On February 8, the state Assembly voted 124 to 25, with support from all Democrats, 17 Republicans, and the chamber's one Independence Party member.

State Sen. Robert Jackson (D-31) sponsored the proposal in the Senate. He said, "This language will finally put in place safeguards that require the government to consider the environment and our relationship to the Earth in decision making. If the government fails in that responsibility, New Yorkers will finally have the right to take legal action for a clean environment because it will be in the State Constitution." State Sen. Dan Stec (R-45), who voted against the constitutional amendment, stated, "I’m all for clean air and clean water. Who isn’t? But in the face of ambiguity you will have distrust, you will have lawsuits, you will have costs, and I’m trying to avoid that."

How did Proposal 2 compare to environmental rights amendments in other states?

See also: Background

Pennsylvania adopted the country's first environmental rights amendment in 1971. Like New York Proposal 2, the amendment established a state constitutional right to clean air and water. The Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment also contained a provision declaring the state's natural resources to be "common property of all the people, including generations yet to come." In 1972, voters ratified a new Montana State Constitution, which included an article on the environment and natural resources. Section 1 said that "the state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations." The constitutional provision also provided that "the legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources."

As of 2021, the constitutions of four additional states—Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—contained language concerning environmental rights. However, unlike the amendments in Pennsylvania and Montana, those in these states were not self-executing, were not placed within the state's bill of rights, or had limited scope.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthful Environment The proposed amendment to Article I of the New York Constitution would establish the right of each person to clean air and water and a healthful environment. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

The purpose of this proposal is to protect public health and the environment by adding the right of each person to clean air and water and a healthful environment to the Bill of Rights in Article I of the New York Constitution.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article I, New York Constitution

The measure added a Section 19 to Article I of the New York Constitution. The following text was added:

§19. Environmental rights. Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2021

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The New York Board of Elections wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 11, and the FRE is 49. The word count for the ballot title is 33, and the estimated reading time is 8 seconds. The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 18, and the FRE is 39. The word count for the ballot summary is 42, and the estimated reading time is 11 seconds.

Support

Vote YES for Clean Air and Water led the campaign in support of the ballot measure.

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D)
• State Sen. Jeremy Cooney (D)
• State Sen. James Gaughran (D)
• State Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D)
• State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D)
• State Sen. Robert Jackson (D)
• State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D)
• State Sen. Anna Kaplan (D)
• State Sen. Brian Kavanagh (D)
• State Sen. Liz Krueger (D)
• State Sen. John Mannion (D)
• State Sen. Rachel May (D)
• State Sen. Kevin Parker (D)
• State Sen. Elijah Reichlin-Melnick (D)
• State Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D)
• State Sen. José Serrano (D)
• State Sen. Kevin Thomas (D)
• State Asm. Steven Englebright (D)
• State Asm. Richard Gottfried (D)
• Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D)
• Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli (D)

Government Entities

• Warren County Board of Supervisors

Organizations

• Adirondack Council
• Delaware Riverkeeper Network
• Environmental Advocates of New York
• League of Women Voters of New York
• NYC Environmental Justice Alliance
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• New York League of Conservation Voters
• Open Space Institute

Arguments

• State Sen. Robert Jackson (D-31): "This language will finally put in place safeguards that require the government to consider the environment and our relationship to the Earth in decision making. If the government fails in that responsibility, New Yorkers will finally have the right to take legal action for a clean environment because it will be in the State Constitution."
• Michael Barrett, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club: "The Green Amendment ensures that environmental impacts will be considered early in the process of government decision-making when prevention of pollution, degradation and harm is most possible."
• Max Oppen, spokesperson for Environmental Advocates of New York: "It also creates a powerful tool for combating environmental racism and rebalancing the inequities communities of color and low-income communities face from disproportionate exposure to pollution and other environment-harming practices."
• State Asm. Steven Englebright (D-4): "All New Yorkers should have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and a healthy environment to live and work in. As the pandemic has vividly shown, our economy and our health are strongly linked."
• Mario Cilento, the president of New York State AFL-CIO: "All New Yorkers deserve access to clean drinking water, clean air, and a healthy environment. That is why we are strongly encouraging union members across the state to approve this constitutional amendment in November. This amendment will not only protect our environment by promoting investment in our water infrastructure and new energy technologies, but it will also create solid middle-class jobs in the process."

Opposition

Arguments

• State Sen. Dan Stec (R-45): "I’m all for clean air and clean water. Who isn’t? But in the face of ambiguity you will have distrust, you will have lawsuits, you will have costs, and I’m trying to avoid that."
• Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York: "New York’s cozy relationship with the personal injury trial bar has bred a robust litigation industry and this proposed amendment will only solidify the state’s reputation as the lawsuit capital of the world. The Empire State already has the country’s highest annual per-household lawsuit costs, estimated at $6,066 per-household in 2016. If approved by the voters, the Green Amendment will only make matters worse."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for New York ballot measures

One PAC, Vote YES for Clean Air and Water, was registered to support the ballot measure.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$150,000.00	$75,372.17	$225,372.17	$150,000.00	$225,372.17
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$150,000.00	$75,372.17	$225,372.17	$150,000.00	$225,372.17

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the ballot initiative.

Committees in support of Proposal 2
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Vote YES for Clean Air and Water	$150,000.00	$75,372.17	$225,372.17	$150,000.00	$225,372.17
Total	$150,000.00	$75,372.17	$225,372.17	$150,000.00	$225,372.17

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
New World Foundation	$150,000.00	$0.00	$150,000.00
Environmental Advocates NY	$0.00	$33,892.98	$33,892.98
Natural Resources Defense Council	$0.00	$25,000.00	$25,000.00
Delaware Riverkeeper Network	$0.00	$5,190.55	$5,190.55
Green Amendments for the Generations	$0.00	$2,486.53	$2,486.53

Media editorials

See also: 2021 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

• The Buffalo News Editorial Board: "Pennsylvania, our neighboring state whose political map features more shades of red and purple than New York, has had its Environmental Rights Amendment for 50 years. Critics of the New York proposal worry that it would provide an opening for lawyers to unleash a flood of litigation, but that has not been the case in Pennsylvania."

Opposition

• Advance Media NY (The Post-Standard) Editorial Board: "We’re not comforted by the experiences of other states with similar constitutional amendments. Most at least spell out who can sue whom. Proposal 2 is just too vague. Voters should look beneath Proposal 2′s feel-good language and consider its broader consequences for the state’s economy and the costs it could impose on local governments and taxpayers."

Polls

See also: 2021 ballot measure polls

New York Environmental Rights Amendment (2021)
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
Siena Poll (registered voters) 6/22/2021 - 6/29/2021	80.0%	12.0%	8.0%	+/-4.10	809
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

State environmental rights amendments

As of 2021, two states had constitutions with environmental rights amendments.The constitutions of four additional states—Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island—contained language concerning environmental rights. However, unlike the amendments in Pennsylvania and Montana, those in these states were not self-executing, were not placed within the state's bill of rights, or had limited scope.

Pennsylvania (1971)

See also: Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment (May 1971)

In 1971, voters in Pennsylvania adopted the country's first environmental rights state constitutional amendment. The constitutional amendment received 79.7% of the vote at the election.

The Pennsylvania Environmental Rights Amendment provided for a right to clean air; a right to clean water; and a right to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment. The constitutional amendment declared the state's natural resources to be "common property of all the people, including generations yet to come" and declared the Commonwealth as the trustee of the state's natural resources, tasked with conserving and maintaining them for the benefit of people.

Montana (1972)

In 1972, voters ratified a new Montana State Constitution, which included an article on the environment and natural resources. Section 1 said that "the state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations." The constitutional provision also provided that "the legislature shall provide adequate remedies for the protection of the environmental life support system from degradation and provide adequate remedies to prevent unreasonable depletion and degradation of natural resources."

Constitutional amendments on New York ballots

In New York, the state legislature can propose amendments to the state constitution. Between 1995 and 2020, the state legislature referred 25 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 19 (76%) of the proposed amendments. The last election to feature constitutional amendments in New York was November 7, 2017. The following chart illustrates trends in constitutional amendments on the ballot in New York:

Constitutional amendments on the ballot in New York, 1995-2018
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Odd-year average	Odd-year median	Odd-year minimum	Odd-year maximum
25	19	76.0%	6	24.0%	1.7	1.0	0	6

Path to the ballot

Amending the New York Constitution

See also: Amending the New York Constitution

In New York, a simple majority vote is required in two legislative sessions of the New York State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 76 votes in the New York State Assembly and 32 votes in the New York State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

203rd New York State Legislature

The constitutional amendment was introduced into the 203rd New York State Legislature (2019-2020). On April 30, 2019, both chambers of the state legislature approved the constitutional amendment.

In the state Senate, the constitutional amendment passed 45 to 17. The Senate's 40 Democrats, along with five Republicans, supported the constitutional amendment. The remaining 17 Republicans voted against the constitutional amendment. As one seat was vacant in the Senate, 32 votes were required to pass the constitutional amendment.

In the state Assembly, the constitutional amendment passed 110 to 34 with six members not voting. Democrats voted 98-2 with six members not voting. Republicans voted 11-32. At least 76 votes were required to pass the constitutional amendment in the Assembly.

Vote in the New York Senate April 30, 2019
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 32  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	45	17	0
Total percent	72.58%	27.42%	0.00%
Democrat	40	0	0
Republican	5	17	0

Vote in the New York State Assembly April 30, 2019
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 76  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	110	34	6
Total percent	73.33%	22.67%	4.00%
Democrat	98	2	6
Republican	11	32	0
Independence	1	0	0

204th New York State Legislature

Legislators of the 204th State Legislature (2021-2022) needed to approve the constitutional amendment for the proposal to go before voters in 2021.

On January 12, 2021, the Senate voted 48 to 14 to pass the constitutional amendment. Democrats, along with six Republicans, voted to pass the legislation. Fourteen Republicans voted against referring the amendment to the ballot.

On February 8, 2021, the Assembly voted 124 to 25 to pass the constitutional amendment. Assembly Democrats, 17 Republicans, and the chamber's one independence member voted for the amendment. The remaining 25 Republicans voted against the amendment.

With approval in both the Senate and Assembly during two successive legislative sessions, the amendment was referred to the ballot for voter consideration.

Vote in the New York Senate January 12, 2021
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 32  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	48	14	1
Total percent	76.19%	22.22%	1.59%
Democrat	42	0	1
Republican	6	14	0

Vote in the New York State Assembly February 8, 2021
Requirement: Simple majority of all members in each chamber in two sessions
Number of yes votes required: 76  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	124	25	1
Total percent	82.67%	16.67%	0.67%
Democrat	106	0	0
Republican	17	25	1
Independence	1	0	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in New York

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in New York.

How to cast a vote in New York

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for primary and general elections. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To vote in New York, one must be a United States citizen, a resident of the county, city, or village for at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 18 years old by the date of the election. People who are in prison for a felony conviction and those who have been declared mentally incompetent by a court are ineligible to register to vote. One cannot register to vote in New York while claiming the right to vote elsewhere. Pre-registration is available beginning at the age of 16. Registration applications are available at the county board of elections or any agency-based voter registration center. Forms are also available online, or prospective voters can request the form by mail. Completed forms returned by mail must be postmarked at least 25 days prior to the election. The form must then be received by election officials at least 10 days before the election. A registration done in person must be completed at least 10 days prior to the election. Residents may also register to vote online through the DMV Electronic Voter Registration Application. These applications are forwarded to the board of elections; applicants should allow up to six weeks for processing. Automatic registration New York automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through a number of state agencies including the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Health, the Department of Labor, and others. Online registration See also: Online voter registration New York has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration New York does not allow same-day voter registration. Residency requirements In order to register to vote in New York, applicants must reside in the county, city, or village in which they are registering for at least 30 days prior to the election. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States New York does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, voter who submits false information "can be convicted and fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years." All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The New York State Board of Elections allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements New York does not require voters to present identification while voting. However, if a voter does not provide valid identification at the time of registration, he or she must show identification at the polling place when voting for the first time Voters can present the following forms of identification: A current, valid photo ID, including but not limited to a drivers' license or a DMV-issued non-driver photo ID A current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document with the voter's name and address

See also

2021 measures

• 2021 ballot measures
• Environment on the ballot
• Constitutional rights on the ballot

New York

• New York ballot measures
• New York ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate Bill S528 (2021)