Bill Text: HI HR74 | 2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Encouraging The State Of Hawaii To Adopt A Proposed Constitutional Amendment, And The Electorate To Ratify The Proposed Amendment, Guaranteeing All Individuals The Right To A Clean And Healthy Environment And A Stable Climate.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-27 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on JHA as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Garcia, Pierick voting no (2) and Representative(s) Belatti, Ganaden, Kapela, La Chica, Nakashima, Nishimoto, Sayama, Tam, Todd excused (9). [HR74 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HR74-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.R. NO. |
74 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE RESOLUTION
ENCOURAGING THE STATE OF HAWAII TO ADOPT A PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT, AND THE ELECTORATE TO RATIFY THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT, GUARANTEEING ALL INDIVIDUALS THE RIGHT TO A CLEAN AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT AND A STABLE CLIMATE.
WHEREAS, millions of people in the United States lack access to safe water, and almost everyone in the world is exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution; and
WHEREAS, Native Hawaiian culture and traditional and customary practices are intrinsically connected to and inseparable from the environment as a source and foundation for cultural continuity; and
WHEREAS, since the construction of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility near Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy has leaked at least one hundred eighty thousand gallons, and potentially as much as 1.94 million gallons, of jet fuel into potable water sources, affecting the safety of water sources for at least ninety thousand Hawaii residents; and
WHEREAS, in the last century, air temperatures have increased between one-half and one degree Fahrenheit; and
WHEREAS, this increase in temperature has led to rising sea levels, affecting Hawaii's shorelines and coastal communities; ocean warming and acidification, harming Hawaii's delicate coral reefs and marine ecosystems; land ecosystem changes, potentially causing native plant species to fail to thrive in altered habitats; and a decrease in fresh water availability due to a reduction in aquifer recharge and reduction in flow of Hawaii's streams and rivers; and
WHEREAS, an environmental rights amendment is an amendment to a state constitution's Bill of Rights that guarantees its citizens the inalienable right to a healthy environment, stable climate, clean air, and clean water; and
WHEREAS, this body finds that rights to a clean and healthy environment, including clean air and waters, fertile soils, healthy ecosystems, living reefs, and a stable climate; the control of pollution; and the conservation, protection, and enhancement of the natural, native, cultural, scenic, and healthful qualities of the environment, are fundamental and inherent; and
WHEREAS, Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania have already adopted environmental rights amendments to their constitutions to emphasize environmental health and safety as part of basic civil liberties; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the State of Hawaii is encouraged to adopt a proposed constitutional amendment, and the electorate is encouraged to ratify the proposed amendment, guaranteeing all individuals the right to a clean and healthy environment and a stable climate; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor.
Constitutional Amendment; Environmental Protection
