Changing A Clean and Healthful Environment

The Montana House today, along a party line vote, gave initial approval to HB292, which would put a question on the 2012 ballot that would amend the Montana state constitution.

If approved, the amendment would change the portion of the constitution that relates to our right to a clean and healthful environment, to include the right to an economically productive environment. This would severely damage the environmental protections that Montanans have come to enjoy. It would become much harder to hold companies that damage our environment accountable.

In addition, this amendment would introduce a huge degree of uncertainty in our constitution. For example, what happens if two industries have competing definitions of an economically productive environment? The tourism industry probably has a very different opinion of an economically productive environment than the mining industry.

The bill will go before the House tomorrow for final approval, before moving on to the Senate. If the bill receives 32 votes in the Senate, the measure will then go to the voters in 2012.