One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Judge Rules High-Speed Rail Authority Broke Promises To Voters
High-speed rail (Photo by ssuaphotos via Shutterstock)
Bad news for the state's high-speed rail: a judge ruled that the California High-Speed Rail Authority broke its promises to the voters who passed a measure in 2008 approving the plan to build a rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
A Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny said the agency "abused its discretion by approving a funding plan that did not comply with the requirements of the law," according to the Associated Press. Proposition 1a promised voters that the agency would both figure out where funding was coming from for the entire first 290-mile segment of the project and clear all the environmental hurdles before it started construction. That hasn't happened, the judge said.
Last year, lawmakers authorized $2.6 billion in state bonds for the first 130-mile segment in the Central Valley, which allowed the state to tap into $3.3 billion in federal matching funds. That all sounds like a lot of money, but it's just a sliver of what will be needed to complete the project. The California High-Speed Rail Authority's 2012 business plan relies on federal financing, but the judge says those sources are mere "theoretical possibilities."
Kenny has not yet cut off funding for the project, but he has scheduled a separate hearing to determine what will happen next. High-speed rail boosters like Gov. Jerry Brown and the California High-Speed Rail Authority itself haven't commented on the ruling.
The lawsuit was originally brought in 2011 by the Kings County Board of Supervisors and land owners in the Central Valley where construction will start on the project.
Construction was set to start on the first segment between Madera and Fresno this fall, but Republican lawmakers—who have generally been opposed to the project and called it a boondoggle we can't afford—have asked for an audit of the land purchase process. Democrats have been trying to streamline the project in the hopes it will happen in our lifetime.
Related:
California High-Speed Rail Hits A Snag: Fall Start Date In Jeopardy
California Narrowly Approves Nation's First Bullet Train
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
