Judge delays hearing about California high-speed rail bond proceeds

LOS ANGELES — A hearing at which opponents of California high-speed rail will argue for an injunction blocking the expenditure of bond proceeds has been rescheduled for next Wednesday.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 19 – just a day before the state plans to price $1.2 billion in bonds to fund the 119-mile Central Valley segment. The deal is set to close the day of the hearing.
It was continued for a week due to Sacramento Superior Court Judge Raymond Cadei’s “unavailability,” according to court documents.

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“We discussed the question of 'What if they sell the bonds?' yesterday, and came to the conclusion that because our injunction was for the expenditure of bond proceeds, rather than the sale itself, it didn’t ultimately matter,” said David Schonbrunn, president of plaintiff Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund.
The state received a court order from the Third District Court of Appeals in earlier litigation validating the sale of the bonds.
Opponents are hoping to get the judge to block the state’s ability to spend the proceeds by ruling that spending money on the Central Valley segment, before funding is secured for the next segment, is illegal. They argued in a brief that Proposition 1A, which voters approved in 2008, authorizing $9.9 billion in bond issuance, dictates that the line be built in usable segments and the 119-mile Central Valley segment doesn’t fit that definition.

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Litigation Sell side Transportation industry California
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