A bill that would bar the state from issuing any further bonds to fund the California High-Speed Rail project was introduced this week.
It's author, Sen. Jeff Stone said, "California's High-Speed Rail is nothing more than the construction of an unsustainable and unachieveable boondoggle dream. Voters approved this project withe the hope of funding economic transformation."
The bill, SB 340, comes just after gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to scale back the network's construction amid cost overruns.
If approved by the legislature and signed by Newsom, SB 340 would "make it illegal for state authorities to sell the remaining $6.6 billion in general obligation bonds authorized by voters under Proposition 1A in 2008."
"The state has instead mismanaged billions of dollars to deliver what is nothing more than a train track that may sometime connect Merced with Bakersfield'' instead of funding transformation, Stone said Wednesday.
According to the Department of Finance, $3.3 billion of the voter-approved bonds has gone to market since 2009, and of that, $2.6 billion must still be issued.
SB 340 has not yet been assigned to a Senate committee for review.
Sen. Jeff Stone will be joining the show at 5:00 p.m. with more information.
Read more here.
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