Senate Improves, Approves High Speed Rail Bill
California Political Desk
August 09, 2008
Yee amendment helps protect main line of bullet train from SF to LA.
SACRAMENTO – The California Senate on Thursday approved Assembly Bill 3034 to rewrite the $10 billion bond measure set to go before the voters in November to build the state´s high speed rail system. AB 3034 improves the business plan and provides greater public oversight of the high speed rail construction. At the request of Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the bill also includes a critical amendment supported by most high speed rail advocates and environmentalists to protect the main line of the bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Last month, the bill included language that would have weakened requirements on how the bond money is to be spent. Specifically, the bill called for allowing small corridors to be built between various metropolitan hubs without any mainline connection from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
At the urging of Senator Yee, the Transportation and Housing Committee amended the bill to prioritize spending on the "backbone" of the high speed rail project, ensuring that the line begins and ends at the San Francisco Transbay Terminal and runs through the San Joaquin and Antelope Valleys, stopping in Los Angeles before ending in Anaheim. Other stops would likely include San Jose, Palo Alto or Redwood City, and the San Francisco International Airport. Ultimately, the system would link the state´s major population centers, including Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.
"The high speed rail bond is better as a result of Senator Yee´s efforts and his amendment to AB 3034," said Mehdi Morshed, Executive Director for the California High Speed Rail Authority. "Senator Yee has rightfully fought to ensure that priority is given to the main line from San Francisco to Anaheim, protecting the future of California´s transportation network."
"The high speed rail bond has always been about finding ways to get millions of people out of cars and airplanes and into a cost-saving and environmentally-sound transportation portal," said Yee. "A piecemeal approach is not what is best for commuters, visitors, or the economy, and is certainly not what is best for our environment. As an advocate for high speed rail, I will continue to be steadfast in securing the San Francisco to Los Angeles corridor of the bullet train and then branching out to other cities."
"This bill will ensure that the High Speed Rail Bond on this November´s ballot contains important environmental and fiscal safeguards and accordingly will help assure voters that their money will be wisely invested in a system that can dramatically improve California´s environment while providing mobility options that improve our competitiveness and quality of life," said Tim Frank of Sierra Club California.
"AB 3034 now has some great amendments, including Senator Yee's plan to restore the primacy of Los Angeles to San Francisco," said Robert Cruickshank of the California High Speed Rail Blog and contributing editor to Calitics.com. "The Senate version of this bill is superior. Los Angeles to San Francisco is necessary to be the spine of the project and the notion of building it in pieces was always a poor approach to the project´s politics and efficiency. The original plan and amendment made by Senator Yee are sound: Los Angeles to San Francisco first, then the extensions to San Diego and Sacramento as a guaranteed Phase II. Rome wasn´t built in a day, neither will high speed rail."
AB 3034 will now be considered by the Assembly before heading to the Governor´s desk.
SACRAMENTO – The California Senate on Thursday approved Assembly Bill 3034 to rewrite the $10 billion bond measure set to go before the voters in November to build the state´s high speed rail system. AB 3034 improves the business plan and provides greater public oversight of the high speed rail construction. At the request of Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), the bill also includes a critical amendment supported by most high speed rail advocates and environmentalists to protect the main line of the bullet train from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Last month, the bill included language that would have weakened requirements on how the bond money is to be spent. Specifically, the bill called for allowing small corridors to be built between various metropolitan hubs without any mainline connection from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
At the urging of Senator Yee, the Transportation and Housing Committee amended the bill to prioritize spending on the "backbone" of the high speed rail project, ensuring that the line begins and ends at the San Francisco Transbay Terminal and runs through the San Joaquin and Antelope Valleys, stopping in Los Angeles before ending in Anaheim. Other stops would likely include San Jose, Palo Alto or Redwood City, and the San Francisco International Airport. Ultimately, the system would link the state´s major population centers, including Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.
"The high speed rail bond is better as a result of Senator Yee´s efforts and his amendment to AB 3034," said Mehdi Morshed, Executive Director for the California High Speed Rail Authority. "Senator Yee has rightfully fought to ensure that priority is given to the main line from San Francisco to Anaheim, protecting the future of California´s transportation network."
"The high speed rail bond has always been about finding ways to get millions of people out of cars and airplanes and into a cost-saving and environmentally-sound transportation portal," said Yee. "A piecemeal approach is not what is best for commuters, visitors, or the economy, and is certainly not what is best for our environment. As an advocate for high speed rail, I will continue to be steadfast in securing the San Francisco to Los Angeles corridor of the bullet train and then branching out to other cities."
"This bill will ensure that the High Speed Rail Bond on this November´s ballot contains important environmental and fiscal safeguards and accordingly will help assure voters that their money will be wisely invested in a system that can dramatically improve California´s environment while providing mobility options that improve our competitiveness and quality of life," said Tim Frank of Sierra Club California.
"AB 3034 now has some great amendments, including Senator Yee's plan to restore the primacy of Los Angeles to San Francisco," said Robert Cruickshank of the California High Speed Rail Blog and contributing editor to Calitics.com. "The Senate version of this bill is superior. Los Angeles to San Francisco is necessary to be the spine of the project and the notion of building it in pieces was always a poor approach to the project´s politics and efficiency. The original plan and amendment made by Senator Yee are sound: Los Angeles to San Francisco first, then the extensions to San Diego and Sacramento as a guaranteed Phase II. Rome wasn´t built in a day, neither will high speed rail."
AB 3034 will now be considered by the Assembly before heading to the Governor´s desk.
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