California’s train system on track for federal audit https://t.co/obJeQWcYCq
— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) April 17, 2018
Showing posts with label high-speed rail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high-speed rail. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
California’s train system on track for federal audit
Labels:
audits,
California,
high-speed rail,
Skyrocketing Costs,
Spending
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
"A complete and viable funding plan does not exist"
Lawmakers skeptical about costly bullet train completion https://t.co/ynez6ra3iu
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) April 3, 2018
Monday, March 26, 2018
Even the High Speed Rail Authority's chair now says he would accept another vote on the plan. Do you agree the high speed train should go back on the ballot?
Even the High Speed Rail Authority's chair now says he would accept another vote on the plan. Do you agree the high speed train should go back on the ballot? https://t.co/OcEW4XLwuQ #CAPolitics #highspeedfail
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) March 26, 2018
Saturday, March 10, 2018
$77 BILLION?! $77 Billion for a train that we don’t want. It is time to cut our losses and end this madness.
The crazy train continues to cost more money and take more time than anticipated. How high do you think it will go or do you think they'll come to their senses and cancel the project? https://t.co/OhniYgB34C #CAPolitics #highspeedfail
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) March 10, 2018
$77 BILLION?! $77 Billion for a train that we don’t want. It is time to cut our losses and end this madness. Let’s build @SitesProject and invest in other infrastructure that Californians will actually use.
— Senator Jim Nielsen (@CASenatorJim) March 10, 2018
PLEASE. JUST. STOP. CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL IS A COMPLETE FAILURE. PULL THE PLUG NOW!!! pic.twitter.com/xUCqKpg6Qv
— Jon Coupal (@joncoupal) March 9, 2018
For $77 billion, California could purchase Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, & Alaska Airlines... & have about $25 billion leftover. https://t.co/Cuxobicv5Z
— Derek T. Muller (@derektmuller) March 9, 2018
Friday, January 26, 2018
Will Unfinished Train Overpasses Become California’s Stonehenge?
Will Unfinished Train Overpasses Become California’s Stonehenge? https://t.co/sTuqEAC0wf via @VDHanson #Infrastructure pic.twitter.com/57RiZr0dm5
— National Review (@NRO) January 26, 2018
Labels:
#FAIL,
California,
Governor Jerry Brown,
high-speed rail,
Spending,
VDH
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Capitol Update: Thursday, January 18, 2018
Bills, Bills, Bills
The second year of this legislative session is well under way, and there are many bills we are already tracking. And although many new bills are being introduced, there are lots of bills left over from last year, or, "2-year" bills, that have deadlines to overcome quickly or else their fate is sealed. Last Friday was the deadline for 2-year fiscal bills to move out of their first house policy committees and onto their fiscal committees. 282 bills missed this crucial deadline and are now dead. Tomorrow is the deadline for these same 2-year bills to be moved from out of committee and back to their floor of origin, or else they suffer a similar fate. Then, there are the bills that have survived thus far, and we are tracking their progress. Here are some important bills for our members to be aware of:
AB 403 (Melendez, R): Legislative Whistleblower Protection Act- To her credit, Assemblywoman Melendez has been trying to pass this bill since 2012. Now that sexual harrassment and assualt claims are running wild in the Capitol- with two Democrat Assemblymen resigning, a Democrat Senator on leave and another Democrat Senator with several credible accusations in the wings, it is no surprise that the Democrat legislative majority has killed this bill every session since it's inception. But Assemblywoman Melendez persists. Legislative staffers deserve the same whistleblower protections as every other state government employee, and yet, the culture of corruption in Sacramento protects those in power in the Legislature. It is high time that those who abuse their power answer for their sins.
AB 1745 (Ting, D): Assemblyman Ting wants to ban all gas-powered, internal combustion vehicle by 2040. That's right... Assemblyman Ting wants to ban YOUR CAR. The havoc this would cause on our economy alone is enough to kill it. This is so short-sided and a huge government overreach.
AB 1756 (Brough, R): Do you hate the gas tax as much as we do? Assemblyman Brough is trying to repeal SB 1 through legislative channels, while efforts to repeal SB 1 through the ballot box continue as well. Though we don't expect this bill to make it through, it is important to support. Poll after poll have made it clear that Californians do not support the Gas Tax.
AB 1886 (Fong, R): Speaking of the Gas Tax, did you know it was unnecessary? Assemblyman Fong introduced legislation last session that would have fully funded transportation infrastructure repairs and new roads without raising Californians' taxes. That bill failed, but he is trying again, especially in the wake of how unpopular SB 1 truly is. AB 1886 would allocate $5.6 billion in transportation funding for new roads, repairs, and traffic congestion without raising our taxes! The revenue is already there, the funding already exists. Democrats would rather raise our taxes and fees than use our transportation funding mechanism for just that- transportation funds.
SB 827 (Wiener, D): California has a housing crisis, and there have been many ideas and suggestions as to how to fix it. Assemblyman Wiener is from the San Fransisco Bay Area, and his bill would allow for higher, denser, transportation village housing. SB 827 would allow housing buildings near public transportation to be taller, denser, and allow for more dwellings. Sounds like quality living!
SB 834 (Jackson, D)/AB 1775 (Mullin, D): These two bills essentially do the same thing, but they are working different avenues. Both are an affront to President Trump's energy plan, and they seek to stonewall any oil drilling off our coasts. Both bills ban new construction on pipelines, piers, or wharfs in any state coastal waters. This would effectively halt the President's efforts to drill off our coasts.
_______
High Speed Fail
The California High Speed Rail Authority appointed a new CEO this week. Brian Kelly was named CEO and was formerly secretary of the California Transportation Agency, overseeing much of the High Speed Rail development. Revolving door, much? The costs of the High Speed Rail Bond have already doubled since voters approved the measure in 2008, from the original projected $34 billion by 2020 to $67 billion by 2029. The latest quagmire is the 119 miles of track in the Central Valley that will cost over $10 billion, up from the original $6 bllion. Questions of if the state can complete the doomed project now outweigh the support it once received. What once was "when" is now "if". According to the PPIC, more than half of likely voters oppose High Speed Rail. Click HERE to read more.
_______
Primary Ballot Measures
The June Primary Election is closer than we realize! The CFRW will come out with Official Positions on each of the four Primary Ballot Measures. Remember that these measures were put on the ballot by the legislature and that citizen-driven initiatives are only allowed on the General Election ballot. The state legislature referred 3 constitutional amendments to the primary election ballot. Two of them were part of a previous session legislative package. For now, here is a brief description of each measure.
ACA 1 (Mayes, R): Vote Requirement to Use Cap And Trade Revenue Amendment- requires a one time, 2/3rds vote to use revenue from our state's Cap and Trade program in 2024. ACA 1 was part of a legislative deal on the Cap and Trade extension at the end of last legislatve session. It requires the legislative vote threshold to pass a spending plan for the revenue from our state's Cap and Trade program.
ACA 5 (Frazier, D): Transportation and Fees "Lockbox" Amendment- requires that SB 1 (the Gas Tax) taxes and fees revenue be used for transportation purposes only. It also exempts the revenue from SB 1 from the state appropriations limit, or the Gann Limit. This prohibits the state from spending revenue in excess of per-person government spending in 1978-79 (adjusted for inflation and cost of living).
SB 5 (DeLeon, D): The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act- What a mouthful, right? This issues a $4 billion general obligation bond for parks, environmental protection and water infrastructure. In the weeks to come, we will list the entire allocation of the $4 billion dollars, but for now, know that many, many different grants and water authorities will come into tens of millions of dollars of your money if this passes. From 1993 to present day, the state of California has had 39 bonds on our state election ballots. Of those, the voters have passed 31. Of those bonds, only 6 have been citizen driven. The state currently has $73.33 billion outstanding in general obligation bond debt.
ACA 17 (Mullin, D): Effective Date of Balot Measures Amendment- Currently, our state ballot measures come into effect the day after the election, unless otherwise noted in the measure itself. This measure would make it so when the voters approve a ballot measure, it would take effect five days after the Secretary of State certifies the election. The Secretary of State is required to certify elections no later than 38 days after the election. The rationale for this measure is to account for the increasing vote by mail ballots needed to be counted after the election date.
CFRW Winter BOD
Our Winter Board of Directors Meeting is just around the corner! Join us in sunny Long Beach as we work to take back our state! We have exciting workshops, speakers, and a sisterhood of Republican Women that can't be beat! Our speakers include TV and YouTube personality, Anna Khait, as well as our banquet speaker, Project Veritas Founder, James O'Keefe. Registration is open and there are still rooms available at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel, for February 9-11th, at our 2018 Winter BOD Meeting! CLICK HERE to register and for more information!
_______
Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.
The second year of this legislative session is well under way, and there are many bills we are already tracking. And although many new bills are being introduced, there are lots of bills left over from last year, or, "2-year" bills, that have deadlines to overcome quickly or else their fate is sealed. Last Friday was the deadline for 2-year fiscal bills to move out of their first house policy committees and onto their fiscal committees. 282 bills missed this crucial deadline and are now dead. Tomorrow is the deadline for these same 2-year bills to be moved from out of committee and back to their floor of origin, or else they suffer a similar fate. Then, there are the bills that have survived thus far, and we are tracking their progress. Here are some important bills for our members to be aware of:
AB 403 (Melendez, R): Legislative Whistleblower Protection Act- To her credit, Assemblywoman Melendez has been trying to pass this bill since 2012. Now that sexual harrassment and assualt claims are running wild in the Capitol- with two Democrat Assemblymen resigning, a Democrat Senator on leave and another Democrat Senator with several credible accusations in the wings, it is no surprise that the Democrat legislative majority has killed this bill every session since it's inception. But Assemblywoman Melendez persists. Legislative staffers deserve the same whistleblower protections as every other state government employee, and yet, the culture of corruption in Sacramento protects those in power in the Legislature. It is high time that those who abuse their power answer for their sins.
AB 1745 (Ting, D): Assemblyman Ting wants to ban all gas-powered, internal combustion vehicle by 2040. That's right... Assemblyman Ting wants to ban YOUR CAR. The havoc this would cause on our economy alone is enough to kill it. This is so short-sided and a huge government overreach.
AB 1756 (Brough, R): Do you hate the gas tax as much as we do? Assemblyman Brough is trying to repeal SB 1 through legislative channels, while efforts to repeal SB 1 through the ballot box continue as well. Though we don't expect this bill to make it through, it is important to support. Poll after poll have made it clear that Californians do not support the Gas Tax.
AB 1886 (Fong, R): Speaking of the Gas Tax, did you know it was unnecessary? Assemblyman Fong introduced legislation last session that would have fully funded transportation infrastructure repairs and new roads without raising Californians' taxes. That bill failed, but he is trying again, especially in the wake of how unpopular SB 1 truly is. AB 1886 would allocate $5.6 billion in transportation funding for new roads, repairs, and traffic congestion without raising our taxes! The revenue is already there, the funding already exists. Democrats would rather raise our taxes and fees than use our transportation funding mechanism for just that- transportation funds.
SB 827 (Wiener, D): California has a housing crisis, and there have been many ideas and suggestions as to how to fix it. Assemblyman Wiener is from the San Fransisco Bay Area, and his bill would allow for higher, denser, transportation village housing. SB 827 would allow housing buildings near public transportation to be taller, denser, and allow for more dwellings. Sounds like quality living!
SB 834 (Jackson, D)/AB 1775 (Mullin, D): These two bills essentially do the same thing, but they are working different avenues. Both are an affront to President Trump's energy plan, and they seek to stonewall any oil drilling off our coasts. Both bills ban new construction on pipelines, piers, or wharfs in any state coastal waters. This would effectively halt the President's efforts to drill off our coasts.
_______
High Speed Fail
The California High Speed Rail Authority appointed a new CEO this week. Brian Kelly was named CEO and was formerly secretary of the California Transportation Agency, overseeing much of the High Speed Rail development. Revolving door, much? The costs of the High Speed Rail Bond have already doubled since voters approved the measure in 2008, from the original projected $34 billion by 2020 to $67 billion by 2029. The latest quagmire is the 119 miles of track in the Central Valley that will cost over $10 billion, up from the original $6 bllion. Questions of if the state can complete the doomed project now outweigh the support it once received. What once was "when" is now "if". According to the PPIC, more than half of likely voters oppose High Speed Rail. Click HERE to read more.
_______
Primary Ballot Measures
The June Primary Election is closer than we realize! The CFRW will come out with Official Positions on each of the four Primary Ballot Measures. Remember that these measures were put on the ballot by the legislature and that citizen-driven initiatives are only allowed on the General Election ballot. The state legislature referred 3 constitutional amendments to the primary election ballot. Two of them were part of a previous session legislative package. For now, here is a brief description of each measure.
ACA 1 (Mayes, R): Vote Requirement to Use Cap And Trade Revenue Amendment- requires a one time, 2/3rds vote to use revenue from our state's Cap and Trade program in 2024. ACA 1 was part of a legislative deal on the Cap and Trade extension at the end of last legislatve session. It requires the legislative vote threshold to pass a spending plan for the revenue from our state's Cap and Trade program.
ACA 5 (Frazier, D): Transportation and Fees "Lockbox" Amendment- requires that SB 1 (the Gas Tax) taxes and fees revenue be used for transportation purposes only. It also exempts the revenue from SB 1 from the state appropriations limit, or the Gann Limit. This prohibits the state from spending revenue in excess of per-person government spending in 1978-79 (adjusted for inflation and cost of living).
SB 5 (DeLeon, D): The California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act- What a mouthful, right? This issues a $4 billion general obligation bond for parks, environmental protection and water infrastructure. In the weeks to come, we will list the entire allocation of the $4 billion dollars, but for now, know that many, many different grants and water authorities will come into tens of millions of dollars of your money if this passes. From 1993 to present day, the state of California has had 39 bonds on our state election ballots. Of those, the voters have passed 31. Of those bonds, only 6 have been citizen driven. The state currently has $73.33 billion outstanding in general obligation bond debt.
ACA 17 (Mullin, D): Effective Date of Balot Measures Amendment- Currently, our state ballot measures come into effect the day after the election, unless otherwise noted in the measure itself. This measure would make it so when the voters approve a ballot measure, it would take effect five days after the Secretary of State certifies the election. The Secretary of State is required to certify elections no later than 38 days after the election. The rationale for this measure is to account for the increasing vote by mail ballots needed to be counted after the election date.
CFRW Winter BOD
Our Winter Board of Directors Meeting is just around the corner! Join us in sunny Long Beach as we work to take back our state! We have exciting workshops, speakers, and a sisterhood of Republican Women that can't be beat! Our speakers include TV and YouTube personality, Anna Khait, as well as our banquet speaker, Project Veritas Founder, James O'Keefe. Registration is open and there are still rooms available at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel, for February 9-11th, at our 2018 Winter BOD Meeting! CLICK HERE to register and for more information!
_______
Disclaimer: The Capitol Update is an activity of the CFRW Advocate's Office. The update is for information only. CFRW official positions on legislation are stated immediately preceding the stated legislation or immediately following the stated legislation in this report.
Labels:
2018 Elections,
Capitol Update,
CFRW,
high-speed rail
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
High speed rail project continues to be an epic disaster.
High Speed Rail cost estimate up again! $6 bn to now $10 bn for Central Valley portion. We need complete audit of this project. Plain and simple. pic.twitter.com/MbMvp7hCb1
— Assemblyman Vince Fong (@AsmVinceFong) January 16, 2018
High speed rail project continues to be an epic disaster. https://t.co/vYwZeM5nI8 #highspeedfail #CAPolitics
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) January 17, 2018
Saturday, November 25, 2017
California: You've been swindled again.
California bullet train project is burning through cash https://t.co/SxxKBBksqM pic.twitter.com/zAMloanwYq
— O.C. Register (@ocregister) November 18, 2017
HJTA: Wanna know where your tax dollars are really going? Do ya really think the new gas tax money will go to the roads? May be a small piece of it, but don't bet on it! You've been swindled again.
Why did the California High-Speed Rail Authority make an emergency transfer of $35 million that was budgeted for another purpose? https://t.co/px5VUeZsh4
— Susan Shelley (@Susan_Shelley) November 18, 2017
Labels:
Blue State,
California,
GAS TAX,
Governor Jerry Brown,
high-speed rail,
Spending
Saturday, July 15, 2017
California produces less than one percent of the world's climate change emissions so why is extending the state's cap and trade tax so urgent? According to columnist Susan Shelley, the real motivation is actually to provide money for the Governor's pet bullet train and a revenue stream for future borrowing.
.@Susan_Shelley: Real reason #CAGov wants #capandtrade now is not the planet, but money for bullet train & borrowing https://t.co/ZXSexIfJkS
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) July 16, 2017
CA ranked 43rd - one of 10 worst run states. Or if for you the glass is half full, we're better than 7 https://t.co/gK7R65mMDw #CAPolitics
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) July 13, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
"The High Speed Rail Authority was founded on fraud. To pass a $10 billion bond they lied about ridership, costs and routes. The routes were total lies, the costs were total lies and the ridership was doubled to make it appear like folks would use it."
"HSR Authority was founded on fraud." https://t.co/grvo4iKNBo #highspeedfail #CAPolitics
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) April 17, 2017
Labels:
California,
Governor Jerry Brown,
high-speed rail,
Lies,
Spending
Friday, March 31, 2017
To be clear @JerryBrownGov is proposing billions in new taxes so he can continue to spend current tax dollars on high speed rail boondoggle.
To be clear @JerryBrownGov is proposing billions in new taxes so he can continue to spend current tax dollars on high speed rail boondoggle.
— Jon Fleischman (@FlashReport) March 31, 2017
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Obama Rejects CA High-Speed Rail $15 Billion Loan
Lame-Duck Obama Admin Rejects CA High-Speed Rail $15 Billion Loanhttps://t.co/K2EoKrrQXK
— All American Girl (@AIIAmericanGirI) December 26, 2016
The California High-Speed Rail Authority came up empty when it asked the outgoing administration of President Barack Obama for a $15 billion loan, the Los Angeles Times reports.
State officials feared that with Republican Donald J. Trump taking office — somewhat unexpectedly — in January, and perhaps cutting off funding to the struggling project, which has never had a clear idea of how it would be financed, they would appeal to the Obama administration for a financial break.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Let’s see, High Speed Rail has a $50,000,000 cost over run on 2 miles of a 32 mile job. Does that mean we can expect total cost overrun of $25 million per mile times 32 miles or $800,000,000?
If HSR has $50M overrun on 2 of 32 miles, can we expect total overrun of $800M? @joncoupal https://t.co/0Na3LDOdS3 #highspeedfail #waste
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 22, 2016
The Fresno Bee reports the cost for the bullet train was off by "about 35 million more than estimated." #bullettrain https://t.co/jnNZC6gryC
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 12, 2016
The #bullettrain plan is going to cost even more than expected. No surprise there. #stopwaste #bullettaintonowhere https://t.co/lkFl4FInGy
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 9, 2016
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Another day, another request from High Speed Rail for more money. And our roads & bridges continue to be neglected!
The #bullettrain plan is going to cost even more than expected. No surprise there. #stopwaste #bullettaintonowhere https://t.co/lkFl4FInGy
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 9, 2016
State rail authority will seek a $35-million increase for key project in bullet train plan https://t.co/dCGuyiGEkz pic.twitter.com/EImgbBXhf5
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 9, 2016
Another day, another request from #HighSpeedRail for more money. And our roads & bridges continue to be neglected! https://t.co/BYDORyYCLG
— Senator Pat Bates (@SenatorPatBates) August 9, 2016
Friday, July 1, 2016
California's political class knew damn well the high-speed rail was a likely boondoggle; they just didn't care
California's political class knew damn well the high-speed rail was a likely boondoggle; they just didn't care: https://t.co/neTMCGEAGK
— Matt Welch (@MattWelch) June 28, 2016
Former Reason editor and current Bloomberg View columnist Virginia Postrel has a terrific new column laying out in damning detail the latest revelations in California's high-speed rail boondoggle. The Los Angeles Times, Postrel notes, published an investigative piece earlier this month showing that (in her paraphrasing), "When the Spanish construction company Ferrovial submitted its winning bid for a 22-mile segment, the proposal included a clear and inconvenient warning: 'More than likely, the California high speed rail will require large government subsidies for years to come.'" Worse yet—the state scrubbed that we're-gonna-need-a-bigger-subsidy warning from the project's website, almost certainly because the California High-Speed Rail Authority is heavily invested in the provable fiction that (in its own shouty words), "HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN CALIFORNIA WILL NOT REQUIRE OPERATING SUBSIDIES."
That thievery-level mendacity of the vested pro-rail interests within government, you can be sure, will not be the target of suggested fraud prosecutions in the Democratic Party's national platform. (Indeed, if they were being even-handed about suggesting law enforcement crackdowns against intentionally misleading forward statements, Democrats would be investigating why their own "five million green jobs" stubbornly failed to materialize.)
But California's broader political class also has blood on its hands...
This is why I called the "high speed rail" line between Milwaukee and Madison a boondoggle:https://t.co/RxeXWaafeo
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) June 30, 2016
Surprise! California's High Speed Rail Breaks Major Promise in New Plan https://t.co/R1xRKZE0Wp
— Chris (@Chris_1791) February 19, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
California's "High-Speed Rail" is a disaster
From @MichaelBarone: California's "High-Speed Rail" is a disaster https://t.co/KgH2ztpAq0 pic.twitter.com/nBFUOvNTwU
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 14, 2016
Labels:
California,
disaster,
Governor Jerry Brown,
high-speed rail,
Spending
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
San Fernando Valley residents say high speed rail would devastate community, harm endangered species & cause blight
San Fernando Valley residents say high speed rail would devastate community, harm endangered species & cause blight https://t.co/9pQt6dFGSc
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) April 13, 2016
Labels:
Blight,
California,
Environment,
high-speed rail
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Increasing numbers of Democrats in the Legislature are now asking critical questions about high speed rail.
Sen Jim Beall (D-San Jose) says high speed rail plan needs "more beef" https://t.co/pkeib381b4 #CAPolitics #CALeg
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) April 5, 2016
Increasing numbers of CA Dems are now asking critical questions about high speed rail https://t.co/JrV9O7UGon #CAPolitics #HighSpeedFail
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) April 6, 2016
Labels:
California,
Democrats,
high-speed rail,
Skyrocketing Costs
Friday, March 4, 2016
High speed rail officials have failed to secure funding from Congress or from private investors, who won't invest unless they receive a guarantee that they won't lose money.
HSR officials have failed to secure funds from Congress or private investors, who fear they'll lose their money https://t.co/dohLDrIxfP
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) March 4, 2016
Labels:
California,
high-speed rail
Monday, February 22, 2016
"Using the initiative process, opponents hope the public will be willing to trade the train for an increased and more reliable water supply"
Want to stop raising #taxes? Then stop the funding of the #bullettrain. Writer argues this point in this article. https://t.co/eslZRQGrBK
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) February 21, 2016
Officials warn first 29 mile high speed rail segment may cost $150M more than expected https://t.co/C21VGPh3tQ #CAPolitics #HighSpeedFail
— HJTA.org (@HJTA) February 17, 2016
Labels:
California,
Drought,
high-speed rail,
Water
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