CO-SPONSORSHIP MEMORANDUM
TO: All Legislators
FROM: Representatives Darrin Madison, Angela Stroud, Vincent Miresse, Angelito Tenorio, Maureen McCarville, Lori Palmeri, Alex Joers, Jenna Jacobson
Senators Mark Spreitzer, Jodi Habush Sinykin
DATE: April 16, 2025
RE: Co-sponsorship of LRB 0255, relating to: the right of the people to a clean, safe, and healthy natural environment and to its preservation (first consideration).
SHORT DEADLINE: Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22nd at 12:00 PM
Wisconsin’s natural beauty, resources, and outdoor economy are an invaluable part of our state’s identity. Environmental challenges, ranging from polluted groundwater and PFAS contamination to record heat waves and drought are making their impacts felt from Superior to Beloit. Preserving the health and quality of life enjoyed by residents means protecting Wisconsin’s clean air and clear skies against hazardous air pollution. Rural and urban communities across the state are now focused on water quality through efforts to remediate lead, address the PFAS crisis, and prevent nitrate runoff. The state of Wisconsin can and should do more to address these challenges – and we should make it clear that the people of Wisconsin have a right to see them addressed.
Warmer winters and unpredictable precipitation patterns are already affecting Wisconsin’s $25 billion tourism industry by limiting ice fishing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and skiing opportunities, which impact restaurants, hotels and taverns that depend on this winter recreation. In a state known for agriculture, extreme weather events are making it harder to predictably plant and harvest crops, decreasing soil quality, and leading to higher amounts of runoff. These are not hypothetical problems for a future legislature. We can and should take action.
LRB-0255 proposes to amend the Wisconsin Constitution to explicitly recognize and protect the rights of all people to a clean, safe, and healthy natural environment, including clean water, clean air, healthy soils, self-sustaining ecosystems, and a safe and stable climate. Additionally, the amendment commits to the preservation of the natural, cultural, and healthful qualities of the environment. The Wisconsin Constitution already explicitly protects the right to fish, hunt, trap, and take game as well as guaranteeing access to our state’s navigable waters. Adopting LRB-0255 would similarly clarify that our existing environmental protections in Wisconsin stem from an underlying, inalienable right to a clean environment and healthy climate.
Enshrining these protections in state constitutions is not a new idea. Pennsylvania and Montana adopted similar constitutional amendments in 1971 and 1972 respectively and New York followed suit in 2021. Lawmakers in states from Hawaii to Maine have proposed similar amendments, including in Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Tennessee, Connecticut, and more.
This constitutional amendment presents an opportunity to forever safeguard our environment, strengthen and clarify Wisconsinites’ rights, and preserve our state’s irreplaceable economic drivers. By supporting this amendment, Wisconsin will join a growing movement to preserve our natural resources and our Wisconsin way of life for generations to come.
If you are interested in co-sponsoring this legislation, please reply to this email or contact Representative Madison’s office at 9110 or Senator Spreitzer’s office at 6-2253 by Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22nd at 12:00 PM. Co-sponsors will be added to both the Assembly and Senate versions of the proposal unless specified otherwise.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This constitutional amendment, proposed to the 2025 legislature on first consideration, provides that the people, including future generations, have the right to a clean, safe, and healthy natural environment, including clean water, clean air, healthy soils, self-sustaining ecosystems, and a safe and stable climate, and to the preservation of the natural, cultural, and healthful qualities of the environment. Under the amendment, these rights shall never be infringed, shall be subject to strict scrutiny review in court, shall be protected equitably for all communities in the state, and are self-executing. Under strict scrutiny judicial review, any restriction of a fundamental right may generally be upheld only if the restriction is necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and is narrowly tailored to its purpose and no reasonable less restrictive alternative exists.
The constitutional amendment also provides that the state, as trustee, must protect Wisconsin’s natural resources for all of the people of Wisconsin, including future generations.
A constitutional amendment requires adoption by two successive legislatures and ratification by the people before it can become effective.
