Phillip Doe and Barbara Mills-Bria have refilled a proposal that they describe as “basically like Polis’s, except that it has teeth in it” according to the Denver Business Journal. Congressman Polis pulled his proposal as part of an agreement brokered by Gov. Hickenlooper. It was intended to create a constitutional right for Coloradans to clean air, water and scenic vistas.
If Doe and Mills-Bria are successful, the proposal will be on the 2016 ballot. It would amend the state’s constitution to give Coloradans an “inalienable right to clean air, clean water, including ground and surface water, and the preservation of the environment, and natural resources.”
The proposal says the resources are the “common property of all the people,” including future generations, and requires the state, or businesses, to prove that an action or policy won’t harm the environment. The proposal also allows any citizen to sue the state if they believe the environment is being harmed or the state isn’t “prudently” managing Colorado’s resources.
