Democratic Assemblyman Charles Calderon said he was encouraged that the California legislature has decided to fund the first portion of the state's high-speed rail project.
Calderon, D-Whittier, said he believes the $8 billion portion agreed to on Friday by the state Senate is a step in the right direction and would help bring jobs to both urban and rural areas.
“I was very pleased, very encouraged,” Calderon said during a NewsConference segment that aired on Sunday, July 8, 2012. “It is the boldest move that we have made in California since the economic recession started.”
The projected $68 billion high-speed rail plan could link Los Angeles and San Francisco in what officials say is 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The bill agreed to authorizes the state to begin selling $4.5 billion in voter-approved bonds that includes $2.6 billion to build an initial 130-mile stretch of the high-speed rail line in the state’s Central Valley.
That allows the state to draw another $3.2 billion in federal funding.
The first segment of the line will run from Madera to Bakersfield.
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Senate Republicans blasted the decision, citing the state’s ongoing budget problems. They said project would push California over a fiscal cliff. No GOP senators voted for the bill Friday.
