Quentin Kopp led a 20-year fight for the bullet train, but he's no fan of the high-speed rail plan that the California Legislature approved last week.
The compromise crafted by Gov. Jerry Brown is a "mangled" version of the project that voters approved in 2008, the former California High-Speed Rail Authority chairman and state lawmaker said.
"They have distorted high-speed rail and twisted it into (providing) money for commuter rail services," Kopp said.
Meanwhile, opponents have filed yet another lawsuit to stop the project.
The suit, which the Kings County Board of Supervisors filed in Sacramento Superior Court, contends that the latest version of the project is so different from what voters authorized that it should not be allowed to proceed.
Kopp is not a party to the suit but said he was familiar with its assertions.
"It's not what I fought for," he said of the project. "It's a different system, and therein lies legal problems."
The authority's CEO, Jeff Morales, said in a statement that the latest plan – including expenditures on commuter rail in the Bay Area and Southern California – was "fully in compliance" with the 2008 ballot measure. He declined to comment on the lawsuit itself.
– California Watch
BILL WATCH
Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation aimed at increasing protections for California homeowners facing the possibility of foreclosure. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, makes California the first state to put into law and expand the major provisions contained in the national mortgage settlement reached with 49 states and major lenders.
– Torey Van Oot
WORTH REPEATING
"Welcome to my new follower @CASOSVote. Since Sec'y Bowen's office is reading this, I encourage her to respond to the Court of Appeal asap."
JON COUPAL, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association president, via Twitter. His group has challenged a new law changing the order in which ballot propositions appear, and an appellate court has asked Secretary of State Debra Bowen to show by July 30 why November's order should stand.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Bee staff
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.