Newsom Weighs $1 Billion Rail Funding as California Cap-and-Invest Revenue Halves
Updated
Updated · CalMatters · Aug 11
Newsom Weighs $1 Billion Rail Funding as California Cap-and-Invest Revenue Halves
2 articles · Updated · CalMatters · Aug 11
Summary
$1 billion in annual California high-speed rail funding is under review as Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers cut spending after cap-and-invest revenue fell to about $2 billion a year.
That squeeze followed a deeper overhaul of the emissions-allowance program this year; the rail project had secured its $1 billion yearly share for 20 years only last September.
The funding decision is critical because the first 171-mile Merced-Bakersfield segment already carries an estimated price tag of at least $35 billion and is not expected to open until the next decade.
California’s broader Los Angeles-San Francisco vision would need roughly $100 billion more, underscoring criticism that the 2008 project has drifted far from its original $33 billion, 2020 promise.