California Assembly wants bullet train contract deferred in rebuke of project’s current plan

In the strongest challenge to the California bullet train project in the past decade, a majority of the California Assembly has co- The action this week comes amid growing concerns by lawmakers that Gov. The Legislature’s role in approving the budget must be respected before key decisions on the state’s largest infrastructure project are made.” California California bullet train could end up needing subsidies, despite promises to voters Opponents of the state’s high-speed rail project say California is preparing to violate a 2008 ballot measure promise not to use state subsidies for operation of the bullet train. The fight over the contract began last year when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon backed a plan to delay installing an electrical system in the Central Valley and divert about $5 billion to future bullet train routes in Southern California and Bay Area that now carry commuter rail systems. “The voters have been given no voice since 2008, and their elected representative, the Legislature, has had no vote since 2012.” But rail authority chief executive Brian Kelly has strongly opposed that plan, backed by the state’s powerful construction unions. In a statement about the resolution, the rail authority only reiterated the need for the high speed rail project and said it looked forward to working with the Legislature.