California Proposition 1A (2008)

Proposition 1A (or the Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century) is a law that was approved by California voters in the November 2008 state elections. It was a ballot proposition and bond measure that allocated funds for the California High-Speed Rail Authority. It now forms Chapter 20 of the California Streets and Highways Code.

Background

The proposition was put before voters by the state legislature. It was originally to appear on the 2004 state election ballot, but was delayed to the 2006 state election because of budgetary concerns raised by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In January 2006, the Governor omitted the initial funds for the project from his $222.6 billion Public Works Bond for the next 10 years. The Governor did include $14.3 million in the 2006-07 budget for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, enough for it to begin some preliminary engineering and detailed study. The proposition was delayed again from 2006 to 2008 to avoid competition with a large infrastructure bond, Proposition 1B, which passed in 2006.