Wisconsin Green Amendment Press Conference

Wisconsin Green Amendment

On April 16, 2025, Wisconsin’s Green Fire’s Legislative Policy Director Paul Heinen attended a press conference in the Senate parlor of the State Capitol. This press conference was the public announcement of the “Wisconsin Green Amendment.”  Senator Jodi Habush Sinykin, Senator Mark Spreitzer and Representative Darrin Madison are the authors of this constitutional amendment. Read the Wisconsin Green Amendment here. 

Attendees of Wisconsin Green Amendment press conference gathered in Senate Parlor, including WGF’s Paul Heinen (third from left)

What would the amendment say?

The Wisconsin Green Amendment is about “the right of the people to a clean, safe, and healthy natural environment and to its preservation.”

It proposes to amend the Wisconsin Constitution, creating Section 27 of article I. The amendment would explicitly recognize and protect the rights of all people, including future generations, 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. 

What makes this amendment different?

The Wisconsin Constitution already explicitly protects the right to fish, hunt, trap, and take game. It also guarantees access to our state’s navigable waters.

Adopting the Green Amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution would clarify that our existing environmental protections in Wisconsin stem from an underlying, inalienable right to a clean environment and healthy climate. 

What happens next?

Constitutional amendments like this one need votes in two consecutive Legislative Sessions and a vote of ratification from the Wisconsin electorate in that year’s election.  Wisconsin’s Green Fire will be following this piece of legislation and will report on its progress.

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