8/27/13 Dan Walters: Court case may derail California's bullet train - Dan Walters - The Sacramento Bee

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Dan Walters: Court casemay derail California'sbullet train

By Dan Waltersdwalters@sacbee.comPublished: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 3A

Last Modified: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 - 10:36 am

When former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger andlegislators asked voters for a north-south bullet trainfive years ago, they knew it would be a hard sell.

Therefore, they included safeguards to persuadevoters that it was a well- reasoned project that wouldnot become a money pit, including:

• The state's exposure would be limited to the $9.95billion bond issue, about a fourth of the estimated cost.

• There could be no operating subsidies.

• Trains would run between San Francisco and Los

Angeles in 160 minutes.

• Financing and environmental studies would have tobe completed before a "usable segment" was built.

Even so, and even without a dime being spent againstit, the ballot measure was approved very narrowly.

Since then, polls indicate that public sentiment has turned against the project as costs haveballooned, as only a token amount of federal funds has been forthcoming, and as design changes

made the 160- minute promise a pipe dream.

However, Schwarzenegger's successor, Jerry Brown, and his High-Speed Rail Authority havepushed ahead, planning to build a 130-mile portion in the San Joaquin Valley that's been dubbed, notinaccurately, as the train to nowhere.

8/27/13 Dan Walters: Court case may derail California's bullet train - Dan Walters - The Sacramento Bee

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Critics have pointed out repeatedly that the seemingly solid assurances in the 2008 ballot measurewere being ignored in the rush to move some dirt, particularly the supposed mandate to haveenvironmental impact studies cleared and financing lined up in advance of construction.

Brown and other advocates have simply ignored the criticism and forged ahead – apparently hopingthat once construction began, there would be a psycho-political commitment to see it through.

But last week, a Sacramento judge declared that if the law approved by voters says certain thingsmust be done before construction begins, the state cannot simply ignore them.

"Having exercised its independent judgment in this matter as authorized by law, the court concludesthat the authority abused its discretion by approving a funding plan that did not comply with therequirements of law," Judge Michael Kenny ruled in a lawsuit brought by San Joaquin Valleyopponents, adding that the agency had failed to identify "sources of funds that were more than merelytheoretically possible."

What happens now is anyone's guess. Kenny will impose some remedy, and there will be appeals.But if it holds, the ruling could be a death knell because there's simply no way to comply with the ballotmeasure's plain language.

Something more than the fate of a dubious public works project is at stake. If officials can ignore lawsthat protect the governed, then the underpinnings of a free society are destroyed.

WEEKDAY VIDEO REPORT

The Bee's Dan Walters is providing weekday video updates on Capitol policy and politics. Find "DanWalters Daily" at www.sacbee.com/capitolalert.

Call The Bee's Dan Walters, (916) 321-1195. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/walters. Follow himon Twitter @WaltersBee.

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