Does Inslee Violate Constitution (Again) with Reproductive ‘Commitment?’

9 years ago, Gov. Inslee signed a 'pact' with former OR Governor Ron Wyden, former CA Gov. Jerry Brown, and the environment minister of British Columbia. This Western States Environmental Pact pledged to enact a cap-and-trade plan to fight 'climate change.'

He did the same thing in 2020 with the Western States Review panel, which was an agreement between WA, OR, CA, Nevada, and Colorado to independently review COVID vaccine safety, which actually delayed the distribution process.

    These actions appear to violate the United States Constitution.

However, the United States Constitution strictly forbids this practice. According to constitution.congress.gov., Article 1 Section 10, which lays out what powers are forbidden to states, it says no "compacts," which are basically pacts.

Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 reads as follows (from constitution.congress.gov):

"No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay."  (bold lettering added for emphasis).

His latest 'pact' involves a new multi-state commitment between CA, OR, and WA to continue to offer full "reproductive rights" and services to women in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade.

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While it is called a "commitment," it is a formal agreement or pact between three states, officially signed by all 3 governors. We're not attorneys, but it appears to violate the Constitution.  We have reached out to Inslee's Deputy Press Secretary Mike Faulk for comment on this and the other pacts.