Home » Bill Seeks to Defund High-Speed Rail and Direct Funds to Infrastructure Projects

Bill Seeks to Defund High-Speed Rail and Direct Funds to Infrastructure Projects

Press Release

by CC News
Assemblymember Kate Sanchez

Sacramento, CA – Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (R-Temecula) has introduced a bold new bill to defund California’s High-Speed Rail project and reallocate its resources to address the state’s urgent infrastructure needs. With California’s roads, water systems, and wildfire prevention efforts in dire need of attention, this legislation seeks to prioritize funding where it’s most needed.

“California is at a crossroads,” said Assemblywoman Sanchez. “Our state’s infrastructure is crumbling, and our communities are paying the price. We need to shift our focus from the High-Speed Rail boondoggle to projects that directly improve the quality of life for Californians.”

The bill, AB 273, eliminates the continuous appropriation of 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the High-Speed Rail Authority. Instead, these funds, which total approximately $1 billion, will be directed to local governments with shovel-ready projects that will improve our state’s infrastructure.

Multiple different types of projects could be eligible for funding under the proposed legislation including:

  • Wildfire Prevention: fuel reduction programs and fire-hardening measures to curb the devastating impact of wildfires
  • Water Storage and Quality: increase water storage capacity and modernize aging water infrastructure to ensure reliable and sustainable water access for all Californians.
  • Traffic Congestion Relief: improving road conditions, expanding highways, and enhancing existing public transportation systems to alleviate our persistent traffic issues
  • Traffic Congestion Relief: improving road conditions, expanding highways, and enhancing existing public transportation systems to alleviate our persistent traffic issues

Since its inception, the High-Speed Rail project has faced significant delays and budget overruns with only 1600 feet of track to show for it. Assemblywoman Sanchez’s bill acknowledges the state’s fiscal realities and offers a pragmatic solution to reinvest in projects that yield immediate and tangible benefits.

“We owe it to taxpayers to allocate their hard-earned dollars wisely,” Sanchez continued. “This bill represents a common-sense approach to building a stronger, safer, and more resilient California.”

About Assemblywoman Sanchez

Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez was elected to the California State Assembly and serves the 71st California Assembly District. She is a proud mom and businesswoman who has been a proven advocate for parental rights and public safety and continues to fight against California tax increases. Her assembly office serves the cities of Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Temecula, Murrieta, and Wildomar, as well as unincorporated areas of the French Valley, Temecula Wine Country, and Orange County.

 


High Speed Rail

All Images by Governor Gavin Newsom’s Office

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3 comments

MODERATE January 22, 2025 - 2:32 pm

This would be a welcome and sensible action. Of course, with the Democratic supermajority in the state legislature, it has no chance of passage.

Donald Rammer January 22, 2025 - 6:19 pm

Good work using Common sense with our tax dollars, Is the rail project is a boondoggle.
Please.
Address the unions who will be your most adversarial Critics! and explain to them that interstructure jobs are Union jobs. Most Interstructure jobs will be in closer proximity to where they all live. And that work will benefit more Citizens overall than the rail project would ever. Thank you.

3henry21 January 25, 2025 - 12:04 am

This should have been done years ago, before the state squandered away $11.5 billion dollars to date on a project that’s no longer relevant to it’s intended purpose in 2008. People were commuting between SF and LA working in the IT Tech industry. Much of those jobs went away when they were outsourcing to India. California refuses to admit the project has become a bad idea, and insists in throwing good money after bad, just to save face.

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