What possessed the House in its Compact bill action?

Lou Marzeles
News Editor

     You take people who, if you walked up to them on the street and struck up a conversation, would seem for all the world to be very pleasant and rational, and you get them elected to public office and allow them to congregate together in weird assemblages—oh, let’s call them state legislatures—and suddenly they can exhibit an uncanny knack for befuddlement.
     Washington is hardly alone in such phenomena, and it must be said that on the whole our state legislators probably act with greater conscientiousness than occurs in many other states.      Nonetheless, the extraordinary wackiness of the Washington House of Representatives in attempting to pass a bill killing the Columbia Gorge Compact (and, by extension, the Columbia River Gorge Commission) defies the most diligent effort at rational explanation. (See our story on this on page one.)
     Who came up with this train of thought? Hey, I’ve got it—let’s dissolve a federally mandated organization in an attempt to save a few dollars and put the expense and burden for taking care of the Gorge right on the surrounding counties!
     Anyone care to take a shot at unpacking this and showing how not a single point here has any validity? Let’s summarize the responses that are certain to arise:
     First, states unilaterally don’t have the power to dissolve interstate organizations. Granted, this bill doesn’t specify dissolution of the Commission, though its consequence would inevitably move in that direction. Would that states could undo federally “inspired” actions; that means that Wyoming, just to pick a state, could do away with the Supreme Court, and Mississippi could reverse the nonsensical congressional change of when Daylight Savings Time occurs.
     Next, there would be no significant monetary savings. The net financial impact, according to studies, would be virtually inconsequential.
     Lastly, this action would put enormous burdens on the Washington counties flanking the Columbia River, not to mention the potential ripple effect that would hit the Oregon counties.
Other than all that, however, maybe the plan has merit.