California Judge Derails Bullet Train

Yesterday a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled that California's High-Speed Rail Authority could not access funds to start construction on the Los Angeles to San Francisco bullet train because it had failed to comply with the law approved by voters in 2008.  The 2008 law required state authorities to have in place a valid financing plan before tapping more bond money.  Under the law, among other things the state needed to present a funding plan that is self-sustaining, which it has thus far completely failed to do.

Apparently pols in Sacramento assumed that if they started construction taxpayers would have to pay to finish it even though the project had "jumped" the track laid down by voters. Fortunately the court was not willing to play along.

Additional information about this ruling can be found at http://fw.to/uBdbvvj.

By Todd A. Picker, Senior Counsel