After a dozen years of study and a variety of political delays in the Legislature, voters will be asked to provide nearly $10 billion in bonds to begin building a high-speed rail system that could ultimately reach from Sacramento to San Diego.
HISTORY
Lawmakers have pondered high-speed rail for more than a dozen years. The California High-Speed Rail Authority was formed in 1996, and about $60 million has been spent on various studies. The Legislature twice voted to delay the bond measure to get the project rolling, in 2004 and 2006. This year, the measure was amended in the final days of the legislative session to allow some of the bond money to be spent on routes besides the main San Francisco-to-Anaheim "trunk" line.
WHAT IT COSTS
The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the bonds would cost state taxpayers about $647 million a year in principal and interest for 30 years, about $19.4 billion in all.
MONEY WATCH
• Supporters have raised $109,000 for the campaign so far, much of it from engineering firms.
• Opponents have not raised any campaign money.
SUPPORTERS
• Construction unions and companies
• Los Angeles and San Francisco chambers of commerce
• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
WHAT THEY SAY:
• A high-speed rail system will provide safe, relatively inexpensive and reliable transportation and reduce dependence on foreign oil and greenhouse gases.
• The trains will provide a choice that reduces congestion at state airports.
• Building the system will provide 160,000 construction jobs and 450,000 permanent jobs in related industries.
OPPONENTS
• Jon Coupal, president, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
• State Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks
• Richard Tolmach, president, California Rail Foundation
WHAT THEY SAY:
• The project is a boondoggle with no guarantee of success and could force the state to raise taxes to make the debt payments.
• The money would be better invested on regional transit systems and highway construction.
• Californians already shoulder too much bond debt.
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