Appendix III: Environmental Provisions in State Constitutions Compared With Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment, Article I, Section 27

• Author: Franklin L. Kury
• Pages: 165-177

165

State

Express Rig ht

to a Healthy

Environment Public Ownership

Express Trusteeship

Provision

Other Provis ions

Related to th e

Environment

1. PE NN SY LVAN I A

Art. I, § 27

May 18, 1971

“The people h ave a right

to clean air, pure wat er,

and to the prese rvation

of the natura l, scenic, his-

toric and est hetic values of

the environment.”

“Pennsylvania’s public

natural reso urces are the

common prope rty of all

the people, including gen-

erations yet t o come.”

“As trustee of t hese

resources, t he Com-

monwealth shall conserve

and maintai n them for the

benef‌it of all t he people.”

2. ALABAMA

Art. XI , §219.07(1)

(1993 )

Amendmen t 892

(2014), amen ding

Amendmen t 597

(1996 )

“In order to me et the

State’s outdoor r ecreation

needs and to pro tect the

natural her itage of Ala-

bama for the be nef‌it of

present and fu ture genera-

tions, it is th e policy of the

state to prot ect, manage,

and enhance ce rtain lands

and waters of A labama

with full reco gnition that

this genera tion is a trustee

of the environm ent for

succeeding generations.”

• Establishes the Alabama

Forever Wild La nd Trust

and promotes “a p roper

balance among population

growth, eco nomic devel-

opment, environmental

protection , and ecological

diversity.”

• Right to hunt , f‌ish, and

harvest wi ldlife

3. ALASKA

Art. VI II, §§2, 3

(1959 )

Section 3. “ Wherever

occurring in t heir natural

state, f‌ish , wildlife, and

waters are res erved to the

people for com mon use.”

Legislature t o provide for

the “utiliza tion, develop-

ment, and co nservation of all

natural reso urces belonging

to the State , including land

and waters, f or the maximum

benef‌it of it s people.”