A Press Release from New Hampshire State Representative Ellen Read (D) on January 5th, 2019. This press release can be found on the Ellen4NH Facebook page.
Ellen has re-introduced the New Hampshire Community Rights Constitutional Amendment (Article 40) which, if passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed by the Governor, will expand and protect the rights of people and the natural environment in their communities.
To quote from a letter to the Editor in the New Hampshire Gazette, January 4 2019 issue by Jennifer Dube NHCRN Legislative Coordinator:
” Representative Read said she is committed to sponsoring this legislation again because ‘our quality of life, indeed our very lives and those of our children and future generations, depend on it.’ Projects, such as pipelines and compressor stations, transmission lines, ridgeline industrial wind ventures, and water extraction projects are authorized by state and federal governments, without townspeople’s consent.”
Adding Article 40 to the NH Constitution’s Bill of Rights would include these three key components: the Right to Local Self-Government; specifically recognizing the right of people in communities across the state to local community self-government.
The Rights of People, Communities, and Natural Environments: people, communities and natural environments have rights to health, safety and well-being, and the authority to prohibit business activities that violate those rights.
Expanding and Protecting Fundamental Rights: people can use their collective local lawmaking power to enact local laws that protect and expand fundamental rights- any efforts to restrict or weaken fundamental rights under this Amendment are prohibited.
Representative Read has the bi-partisan support of co-sponsors Vincent Migliore, Janice Schmidt, Skip Cleaver, Wendy Thomas, Nancy Murphy, William Pearson, Kathryn Stack, David Meuse and Josh Adjutant.