California Proposition 1A (2008)

Proposition 1A is a California ballot proposition and a bond measure that would fund the California High-Speed Rail if approved by voters in the upcoming state election on November 4, 2008.

History

Originally known as the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act, the proposition was to appear on 2004 state election ballot, but was delayed to the 2006 state election due to budget concerns raised at the time by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In January 2006, the Governor chose to omit the initial funds for the project from his $222.6 billion dollar Public Works Bond over the next 10 years. The Governor did include $14.3 million in the 2006-07 budget for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, enough for it to begin some preliminary engineering and detailed study work. [cite news |url=http://oldsite.bayrailalliance.org/issueupdate/past_updat.html |title=Governor funds HSR, but bond delayed to 2008 |date=2006-07-18 |accessdate=2008-09-11 |publisher=BayRail Alliance] The proposition was delayed again from 2006 to 2008 to avoid competition with the huge infrastructure bond, Proposition 1B, which passed in 2006. [cite web| url=http://www.progressiverailroading.com/transitnews/article.asp?id=5017 |title=Private equity firm purchases TydenBrammall parent Tyden Group] The original proposition would have appeared in 2008 general election as Proposition 1, but Assembly Bill 3034, an update to the original proposition with additional funding requirement and oversight, removed the original proposition from the ballot and the name was changed to Proposition 1A.cite web |url=http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_3001-3050/ab_3034_bill_20080826_chaptered.html |title=Assembly Bill 3034 |date=2008-04-09 |accessdate=2008-09-11 |publisher=California State Legislature]

Proposal

The proposition would allocate $9.95 billion to the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Of that $9.95 billion, $9 billion will be used to construct the core segments of the rail line from San Francisco to the Los Angeles area and the rest will be spent on improvements to local railroad systems, which would feed into the high-speed rail mainline. However, the project would still depend on federal matching funds, since a $9.95 billion bond issue would cover at most half of the estimated cost of the initial core segment. The money will be raised through general obligation bonds that are paid off over a time period of 30 years.

Results

References

See also

*California High-Speed Rail
*California state elections, November 2008

External links

* [http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/ California High Speed Rail Authority official website]
* [http://www.hsrlandimpacts.org/ California High Speed Rail Land Impacts (opponents)]
* [http://www.californiahighspeedtrains.com/ Californians for High-Speed Trains (proponents)]
* [http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/title-sum/prop1a-title-sum.htm Summary from the Secretary of State]