LAS CRUCES - All New Mexicans, both those now residing here and those who are yet to come, would have a constitutional right to clean air, water and land under legislation being cosponsored by Sen. Bill Soules and Rep. Joanne Ferrary, both D-Las Cruces and Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque.
Or, to be precise, they would have a more well-defined constitutional right to those things. The New Mexico Constitution was previously amended in 1972 in an attempt to ensure the right to clean water, air, soils and environments. Sponsors of this year’s proposed “Green Amendment” say that effort failed because it left compliance in the hands of the Legislature.