Unless there is a 50 percent chance a home will be destroyed in a landslide, an arbiter must allow the home to be built. Fifty percent? I imagine there will be a few of these subdivisions built in the future with, say, a 25 percent chance of destruction. Would Rep. Morley like to deliver the news that a child was killed in her bed by a mudslide thanks to his legislation?

It's the same for protecting our water. Will he say, "Sorry, the arbiters thought there was only a one-in-three chance that the development would ruin the water quality of the river. They were wrong, so now your city has to raise taxes by millions of dollars to treat the water." It might be enough to wipe out all of the tax cuts the Legislature passes this year.

Steve Glaser

Holladay