In issuing two stinging decisions on Monday, a superior court judge has erected significant obstacles to the construction of California's high-speed rail project. His invalidation of the project's financing plan has put its future in doubt.
"Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny issued two decisions Monday, both of them based on findings that the state made key errors and failed to comply with voter-approved requirements as they moved the project toward a long-awaited groundbreaking," reports Ralph Vartabedian. In sweeping decisions, Kenny ruled that the state must create a new funding plan for the project and prevented the state from selling $9 billion in rail bonds to fund the project.
"The decisions do not immediately stop the project," notes Vartabedian, "but they could sharply curtail the state’s ability to pay for the high-speed rail system in the future."
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