It isn’t just Congress. Republicans in the Assembly want to kill high-speed rail, too
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LEGISLATIVE REPUBLICANS TAKE AIM AT CALIFORNIA HIGH-SPEED RAIL PROJECT
Assembly Republicans this week introduced a pair of bills aimed at defunding the California High-Speed Rail Authority.
AB 267 and AB 273 both would reroute the approximately $1 billion that the state gives to the authority each year from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund toward projects addressing wildfire prevention and water storage instead.
It’s unclear whether the bills are intended to work in tandem or as separate attempts to kill high-speed rail.
But both Assemblymember Alexandra Macedo, R-Tulare, and Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Temecula, were of the same mind on their opinion of the project to build a high-speed rail line ultimately connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco.
“By all metrics, the High Speed Rail is a colossal failure. The $1 billion spent on High Speed Rail each year would be better spent on the protection of lives, homes and jobs against wildfire and securing water infrastructure for our economy to grow,” Macedo said in a statement.
Sanchez said that “California is at a crossroads” with crumbling infrastructure.
“We need to shift our focus from the High-Speed Rail boondoggle to projects that directly improve the quality of life for Californians,” she said.
The bills face a difficult climb in the Democratic super-majority-controlled Legislature. And they likely would be vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who earlier this month expressed his continued support for the project.
Kyle Simerly, a spokesperson for the High-Speed Rail Authority, told The Bee in an email that the authority doesn’t comment on pending legislation, but said that more than $11 billion has been invested in the project, generating $18 billion in economic benefit for the Central Valley and across the state.
“In the Central Valley, 171 miles of the corridor is under design and active construction, and to date, more than 14,000 construction jobs have been created and 875 small businesses are working on the project,” Simerly wrote.
Of course, it isn’t just state Republicans looking to kill high-speed rail in California. Billionaire Elon Musk has vowed to cut federal spending on the project, and Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, has introduced legislation to do just that.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The gentleman offers us gun control as an antidote. We offer criminal control.”
- Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, responding to Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin’s plea Wednesday for Republicans to push gun control legislation as the GOP backed legislation to make it easier to detain and deport undocumented immigrants who are suspected of minor crimes. h/t to David Lightman.
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This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 4:55 AM with the headline "It isn’t just Congress. Republicans in the Assembly want to kill high-speed rail, too."