Senate Democrats in the Senate Taxation and Revenue Committee recently refused to pass Senate Bill 94, authored by Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach). SB 94 aimed to defund the controversial high-speed rail and used those funds to reduce the gas tax. The measure would eliminate the continuous appropriation of 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to the High-Speed Rail Authority on June 30, 2026 and would require 25% of the annual proceeds of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to be transferred to the Motor Vehicle Fuel Account.
During a recent interview with ABC 10 Sacramento, Strickland, vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, has continued to express deep skepticism about California’s efforts to complete the high-speed rail.
“I’m going out on a limb right now to say this train as proposed will never be built given the price tag that keeps climbing with no end in sight,” said Senator Strickland. “‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’. In this case, legislative Democrats and this governor continue to fool California families and businesses by convincing them that the high-speed project is still viable.”
Strickland’s first action after taking the oath of office in March included calling for the defunding the high-speed rail and using those funds to lower gas prices in an op-ed published by the Orange County Register and 11 other Southern California News Group newspapers. He did not mince his words.
Excerpts from his Op-ed:
… A reasonable policy argument can exist as to whether such a project would still have merits, but California High-Speed Rail has wildly broken trust with the public.
Too much time and too much money has already been spent, and we need to stop digging the ditch deeper. …
Read the full Op-ed HERE.