Camden: John Wayne Trail gets no help from state Senate

Senators shouldn’t be pitting parks against schools, Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, said. Parks are “part of our education system” and good for business.

But included in the bill was evidence there is at least one Eastern Washington recreational facility that Republicans really, really don’t like. Western Washington Democrats were eager to point that out. Republicans amended the proposed legislation with a paragraph that bars any money from being spent fixing up the John Wayne Pioneer Trail, which meanders some 250 miles from the Cascades across Central and Eastern Washington to the Idaho border north of Tekoa. Not a dime.

The trail has become a bone of contention between townspeople at various points throughout the route and landowners along some of its open expanses.

The former want more folks hiking, biking or riding horses on the trail, who might then stop in town for something to eat or drink or a place to spend the night. The latter are not happy with some users who leave garbage or damage in their wake. Lawmakers from the area have generally sided with the landowners. An effort to quietly sell off a portion of the trail in 2015 went over like a tactical nuke in Tekoa and nearby towns, but was canceled when language in legislation incorrectly described the trail.

Sen. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, insisted the trail is a “gem,” well used as far east as the Columbia River, but beyond that point access is limited and the trail difficult to use. Under the current bond legislation, that won’t get any better, she said.

“An entire generation of Washingtonians will never have access to the trail because this Legislature makes it so difficult to use,” Rolfes said.

The bill passed 36-12, and was sent to the House.

They vote, therefore they are

Under the stilted language of the Legislature, senators avoid saying the “House of Representatives,” and representatives avoid saying “the Senate” when debating bills. It’s usually “the chamber across the Rotunda” or “the other body” or “that place which is the graveyard of good legislation.”

In speaking favorably about a House bill recently, Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, began “This bill came out of the House …” then paused and amended his intro to “it came out of somewhere — 98 to 0.”

After the bill passed, Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib felt the need to clarify the rule that Miloscia broke, although not the way the senator thought. “There’s not a problem with mentioning the existence of the House of Representatives as an ontological matter,” he said. Giving the vote count is what’s not allowed.

“The theory, presumably, is you’re voting for a measure because you think it’s a good idea, not because the House of Representatives thinks it’s a good idea.”

Translation: You can mention them, just don’t pay any attention to them.