Reading Room Document

Voting Procedures for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission

The document discusses the voting procedures for the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission and the interpretation of its statutorily-prescribed voting procedure. The conclusion reached is that the Commission must agree to the Master Plan by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a meeting attended by a quorum, and that the requirement for the two-thirds vote to be made up of a majority of both federal and state representatives is improper. The document presents questions for review regarding the interpretation of the voting procedure, the conflict between the Commission's by-law and the statute, and the potential subversion of Congress' intent by giving a majority of the states a veto.

January 8, 1981