Senate reads Proposal 5 to add a constitutional ‘right to a clean environment’ and refers it to committee

The Senate heard a first reading of Proposal 5, a constitutional amendment that, as read aloud in the chamber, would "amend the constitution of the state of Vermont in order to provide that citizens of the state have a right to clean environment." Speaker 3 read the proposal on the floor and Speaker 1 announced that the measure is referred to the committee on natural resources and energy for further consideration.

The proposal, identified in the reading as "Proposal 5," was presented without debate during this session and no sponsor remarks were recorded in the transcript. The referral places initial consideration with the committee that handles environmental and energy policy issues, which will determine whether to hold hearings, request testimony or advance a committee recommendation back to the full Senate.

No timetable, fiscal note, or public-comment schedule for the proposal was provided in the transcript. The next procedural step recorded was the committee referral; the record does not indicate when the committee will take up the proposal.