Absent from Gov. Kathy Hochul's 2023 State of the State Address was recognition of her obligation to ensure that "Each person shall have the right to clean air and water, and to a healthful environment."

In 2021, 2,129,051 voters inscribed these rights in the Constitution's Bill of Rights as Article I, §19, known as the Environmental Rights Amendment. The people of New York may wonder how Hochul will ensure that the state observes these rights.