California bullet train plans advance
California’s plans for high-speed rail stayed alive Friday after the state Senate approved a spending bill to begin construction on the $68 billion effort.
The Senate voted 21-16 to approve the sale of $2.6 billlion of bonds approved by voters in 2008. The federal government promised the state $3.3 billion in matching funds.
The measure now goes to Gov. Jerry Brown, who is expected to sign it.
The state’s bullet train plans have been criticized for their overall cost and route. The train has also come under fire because of the resources it will require at a time when the state has made deep cuts to other programs like schools.
Voters in 2008 approved the bullet train bonds, with 53 percent voting in favor. But a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll released June 3 showed that 59 percent of Californians would vote no on those bonds if given another chance.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority last April cut $30 billion off a bullet train price tag that had grown to almost $100 billion.
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