LOS ANGELES — Challenges to the general obligation bonds California voters authorized to build a high-speed passenger train system are far from over.
A trial date has been set for February 11 in King County's Sacramento County Superior Court lawsuit challenging whether the project complies with language in the 2008 bond measure, which authorized almost $9.95 billion, including $9 billion for the high-speed link between Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Rail Authority CEO Jeff Morales, Gov. Jerry Brown, the state's treasurer, finance director, controller and the transportation secretary are all slated to testify in the case originally filed in late 2011 by John Tos, Aaron Fukuda and the Kings County Board of Supervisors.
Fukuda, a founder of Citizen's for California High-Speed Rail Accountability, joined Tos, a Kings County landowner, and local government officials in the lawsuit.
The case combined two efforts, one of which rail opponents already lost. That effort involved arguments that that the rail authority's 2011 draft business and funding plan violated requirements of the Proposition 1A high-speed rail bond act. Opponents took it all the way to the Supreme Court and lost.
The trial deals with allegations that the state's plan for a "blended" system where high-speed trains share electrified tracks with the Bay Area's Caltrain commuter rail line between San Francisco and San Jose does not follow Prop. 1A's requirements, including making a nonstop trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 2 hours 40 minutes. They also argue it will not be able to operate without a public subsidy.
Rail opponents are due to file an opening brief by Nov. 1, and the state must file its opposition brief by Jan. 15. The plaintiffs' final reply brief will be due Feb. 5.
The other challenge to the project comes from legislation introduced by state Sen. Andy Vidak, a Republican who represents the Central Valley.
Vidak wants the issue to go before voters again in June 2016. The bill would halt sales of bonds to support high speed rail except for funding to support the blended system in the San Francisco Bay area.
The bill must obtain a two-thirds supermajority in both houses.
