Calif. high-speed rail referendum to stay on ballot

The California Assembly Transportation committee has voted down SB 298, which would have taken a high-speed rail referendum – Proposition  1 – off the November ballot.

“Today’s vote is another statement of strong support for the high-speed rail project. Californians are tired of sitting in traffic, paying exorbitant prices at the pump and polluting our environment with an endless number of cars,” said Judge Quentin Kopp, chairman for the California High Speed Rail Authority, in a statement.

If California voters are in favor of the $9.95 billion November referendum, it will fund about one-third of the necessary dollars for completion of California’s proposed north-to-south high-speed rail project.