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Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare). (Photo: Alexandra Macedo alexandramacedo.com)
New Bill to Reduce High-Speed Rail Funding In Favor Of Wildfire Prevention Projects
Southern California wildfires spur more support for reallocation of funds
By Evan Symon, January 29, 2025 2:47 pm
A new bill that would eliminate California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions funds slotted for high speed rail to reallocate it for for water infrastructure and wildfire prevention projects saw increased popularity this week as Southern California wildfire recovery continues.
Assembly Bill 267, authored by Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare), would specifically suspend the CARB Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund allocation to the High-Speed Rail Authority. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund stems from the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which allows CARB to monitor and regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Money collected from the auction or sale of allowances as part of a market-based compliance mechanism goes into the fund, of which 25%, or about $1 billion, annually goes to High-Speed Rail.
AB 267 would suspend the appropriation to the High-Speed Rail Authority for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 fiscal years and would instead require those amounts from moneys collected by the state board to be transferred to the General Fund. The bill would specify that the transferred amounts shall be available to augment funding for water infrastructure and wildfire prevention.
Assemblywoman Macedo authored the bill because of the crucial need for both wildfire prevention and water project funding, as well as greater assistance for recovery from the Southern California wildfires that occurred earlier this month.
“This bill is doing something that I think the Central Valley’s been asking for a really long time, which is to abandon the high-speed rail project or at least the funding going towards it,” the Assemblywoman said earlier this month. These type of investments of prevention are necessary because we know the fires are going to come and continue to come. Make sure that you know, years of spending is actually worth something, and that’s something that the high-speed rail can’t show.
“Families are devastated beyond words, and entire communities have been wiped out by the raging wildfires in Southern California. Sadly, this is not a unique catastrophe. The State needs to do more to prevent such tragic disaster. By all metrics, the High Speed Rail is a colossal failure. The $1 billion spent on High Speed Rail each year would be better spent on the protection of lives, homes and jobs against wildfire and securing water infrastructure for our economy to grow.”
Macedo’s office added that California High Speed Rail has, to date, spent $13.7 billion in total, including $1.6 billion on professional marketing materials and consultants. The only completed segment so far is between the Kern-Tulare line and Shafter, and has cost $1.4 billion for 22 miles of raised dirt; and 11 overpass structures. Zero feet of track have been laid, with the initial track laying ceremony only happening earlier this month. Current estimates for the entire phase 1 of the high-speed rail system are a cost at between $128 billion to $135 billion, with estimated partial completion still being in the 2030’s.
Growing support for AB 267
Since being introduced, AB 267 has received more and more support, with even more coming in this week as Southern California wildfire recovery costs and expanding wildfire prevention costs continue to grow. New backers have included Congressman Vince Fong (R-CA), who added similar concerns in reducing wildfire risks.
“The state needs to do something differently. It is crucial that the state act with a sense of urgency and dedicate more resources to remove vegetation and properly manage forests to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires,” said Congressman Fong. “Our state has endured years of multiple wildfires persevering through unfortunate devastation, and this is a better use of precious taxpayer dollars. I will advocate on the federal level to help to protect Californians from wildfires and strengthen our water infrastructure.”
AB 267 is not the only legislative effort hoping to reduce High-Speed rail funding this year. A bill in the U.S. Congress, introduced by Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA), would end all federal funding of California High-Speed Rail if passed.
The Assembly bill has yet to receive major opposition, but many lawmakers are expected to come out against AB 267 as committee hearing dates approach.
“This is an interesting bill because, right now, California desperately needs more money for wildfire prevention. Those L.A. wildfires are proof of that,” said Dana, a Capitol staffer, to the Globe on Wednesday. “A lot of Southern California Democrats, or Democrats in major wildfire risk areas in general, are going to strongly consider this. It’s $2 billion over 2 years. For [High-Speed Rail], that’s a drop in the bucket. For statewide prevention efforts, not to mention other water infrastructure projects, that is crucial.
“Republicans are all for this, and after those wildfires, they really have the momentum to get Democrats on their side who, in any other year, would vote against it outright. Now, whoever doesn’t support this, it can easily be used against them next election year. Especially if another wildfire breaks out that could have been prevented with, say, more state funds. We’ll see where we all stand in the first committee hearings. Those first votes should be interesting.”
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Consideration to agricultural interests by CHSR, like bridge design in respect to East/West traffic of farm equipment and area first responders, could have been done better by a 4H chapter.
maybe King G should issue an EO to halt all funding for HSR and redirect towards water and fire suppresion. mayor bass is already on the ‘hot’ seat for cutting funding to LAFD budget, do Californians know that King G ALSO cut 150 million from CalFire Budget ??? Arrogance and ignorance combined are a deadly combination.
FYI, news media reporting the massive economic ‘benefit’ ALREADY achieved by HSR ?? Taking money OUT of your paycheck to hire newsome’s buddies construction company to build a giant concrete parking lot in the middle of the Mojave Desert, away from any needs for it, is only an economic benefit to the paychecks of his buddies employees, not the people of the state. #stopthegrift
Who else had a positive adrenaline shot when they read this : “A new bill that would eliminate California Air Resources Board (CARB) ” and then it ended when I finished that sentence…
Agree with her assessments… imagine if the state redirected the billions of dollars to Brown & Newsom’s choo-choo train to nowhere were invested in the California FAIR plan, or even better, if the idiot “Insurance Commissioner” actually did something to ENCOURAGE commercial insurers to compete for California business, rather than throwing up page after page of insane building requirements that drive up the cost of re-builds ON TOP OF insane wildland management policies that encourage raging conflagrations as we saw earlier this month….
California is run (mostly) by idiots… this lady is NOT one of those…. keep writing the truth Assemblywoman Macedo!!!!
As I said to CAHSRC before it became an “Authority,” if we put enough UPS, Fedex & Postal Service tonnage on the HSR then we wouldn’t need to ask taxpayers for a dime. The N-S tonnage flows, I-5 & 99, could be hauled with steel wheels rolling over steel rails, with a fuel savings of 75%/ton-mile; reduce highway congestion; lower maintenance expenses (axle weight is the single largest factor in highway surface and bridge support deterioration. UPRR’s prior CEO said that they want a bigger share of the I-5 freight corridor pie.