CA State Judge Rules Against CAHSR

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Blackwolf

Conductor
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Messages
1,517
Location
CIC
Not a good day today for the future of California's High-Speed Rail project.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge on Monday ordered the agency building California’s high-speed rail system to rescind its original funding plan, a decision that figures to halt state bond funding for the $68 billion project until a new plan is put in place.



Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/25/5945785/sacramento-judge-delivers-setback.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/25/5945785/sacramento-judge-delivers-setback.html

There is some discussion and professional doubt on what this means, exactly, or even if this Judge has the legal power to force the halt to bond sales. This stems from the authority to issue bonds lying with the State Legislature alone; having to submit this power from an elected body to a Judge (even a Federal one) would be setting a new precedence that might not be a good one.

Either way, you can bet lawyers on both sides of the issue are working feverishly on what may come next. If CAHSRA has to draft up a brand-new, from scratch funding plan, you can bet we have just been set back another two years. :angry:
 
Diridon said the validation ruling will allow seven possible challenges to the bonds to go ahead separately rather than in one case. The validation opponents include the plaintiffs in the funding case – Hanford area grower John Tos, homeowner Aaron Fukuda and Kings County. Others were the Kings County Water District and Citizens for California High-Speed Rail Accountability, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Union Pacific Railroad, Eugene Voiland, Kern County and the Free Will Baptist Church.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/25/5945785/sacramento-judge-delivers-setback.html#storylink=cpy
Question: Taking these cases to court costs a lot in legal fees, how did the "Plaintiffs" come up with this money? Is UP putting money against CAHSRA? Who puts the money behind the "Citizens for CHSRA Accountability"? To me that sounds like a shadowy PAC that a few millionaires or a company or two play around with. Same thing with the "Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association" is that basically a mini-Cato Institute? Seems like one of those places that just puts out bad data and propaganda to poo-poo any public project that doesn't directly line the pockets of big business.

I'd also like to know where the California and/or local Chamber(s) of Commerce stand on the issue.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It was a state court judge who made the ruling, not a federal judge. Maybe the title could be changed to reflect this?
 
I'm sure CalHSR is working on the Notice of Appeal as we speak and they'll take their chances in appellate review. Will be interesting to see how the Court of Appeal rules.
 
If the CAHSR does not get built, can some of the money provided by the Obama Administration go instead to the Northeast Corridor, such as for the Gateway Project?
 
If the CA money were to go someplace else, which is a long ways from happening, it wouldn't go to Gateway. Gateway isn't shovel ready and won't be for years. It could however go to the Portal Bridge replacement project which is almost ready to go.

Not saying that it would go there, but some money just might go there.
 
All of this is a self-inflicted injury by the Authority insisting on incompetence and corruption for the contractors. Hopefully some degree of sanity (there are a few signs of it) will result in private investment showing up (and preferably taking over).
 
All of this is a self-inflicted injury by the Authority insisting on incompetence and corruption for the contractors. Hopefully some degree of sanity (there are a few signs of it) will result in private investment showing up (and preferably taking over).
What serious private investment that isn't already on the table?

Hand CAHSR over to the private sector and you can take that shovel and bury the project. They'll milk as much as they can out of it and wait until it fades away, then cancel it and the media will call it a failure from the start, thrusting blame to the government.
 
What are the chances that the state legislature now appropriates the $2.7 billion matching funds from its own budget?
 
RIP CA HSR

No way around it. America does not want HSR.

So disillusioned by people and the government of this country. All about them, never about the good of the country.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top