Governor Wants California High-Speed Rail Back On Track
SACRAMENTO (KCBS) - Mounting costs and skepticism about high speed rail should not dissuade California from connecting all of its major cities with bullet trains, Gov. Jerry Brown said.
The governor used his State of the State speech Wednesday to highlight the long term importance of state spending on several major infrastructure projects despite a lingering budget deficit.
KCBS' Doug Sovern Reports:
"Those who believe that California is in decline will naturally shrink back from such a strenuous undertaking. I understand that feeling, but I don't share it," he said.
The governor asked state lawmakers to green light state funding for the first leg of high-speed rail in the Central Valley.
"Without hesitation, I urge your approval," he said, throwing his full political weight behind the now $40 billion project.
He compared local criticism to the voices who spoke against visionary infrastructure projects of history such as the Interstate Highway System, the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal.
Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway said bullet trains had become a fiasco the state should abandon.
"There's no agreement in this state on even where a route would be if there was going to be one. And if we're really talking about a wall of debt, that just adds to the debt," she said.
The state budget again dominated the State of the State speech.
Brown struck a positive note on the state's finances, even as he launched a campaign for voters to raise taxes on the November ballot.
The governor said the deficit now confronting California was just a quarter of what it had been during his last State of the State speech, but could not be erased completely without more revenue.
Leading Democrats in the legislature said California should take advantage of federal funds to start laying the first segment because the viability of the entire project will become clear once the Central Valley portion is in place.
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