CEQA Preemption Appeal Fully Briefed 05/18/16 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The appeal of the CEQA Preemption Order by the federal Surface Transportation Board for California HSR is now fully briefed. Oral argument has not yet been scheduled. The briefs are all posted on the STB page. Tags: CEQA, Preemption, HSR Litigation, STB
Press Coverage of HSR Hearing 02/15/16 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The hearing on the Tos Part II challenge to CHSRA compliance with the requirements of Proposition 1A was held on February 11, 2016. For a listing of the press generated by the hearing, see the bottom of this page. Tags: HSR Litigation
High-Speed Rail Dragged Back to Court 02/06/16 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The California High-Speed Rail Authority, along with the Governor, the State Treasurer, State Controller and others are back in Department 31 of the Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday, February 11 at 9:00 am. They are fighting a motion by the Tos plaintiffs for an injunction that would shut off all funding for the construction of the current HSR project. A full description of the case, along with the briefs, is available here. Tags: HSR Litigation
Opening Brief Filed in STB Appeal 12/07/15 Filed in: High-Speed Rail TRANSDEF and its allies Kings County, Kings County Farm Bureau, California Citizens for High-Speed Rail Accountability, Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail, California Rail Foundation, and Dignity Health today filed the Opening Brief in their appeal of the federal Surface Transportation Board’s Declaratory Order. That decision eliminated the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s need to comply with CEQA, due to the STB’s assertion of federal preemption of all federal, state, and local regulations pertaining to interstate railroads. See the Briefs. Tags: HSR Litigation, CEQA, Preemption, STB
Taxpayer Challenge to High-Speed Rail Files Devastating Brief 11/16/15 Filed in: High-Speed Rail The legal team challenging the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s compliance with the 2008 Proposition 1A High-Speed Rail Bond Measure filed a supplemental brief today. It explains the legal significance of a secret document recently uncovered by the Los Angeles Times. The Authority had resisted releasing it. Pressure from the State Assembly Republican Caucus and several Republican congressmen eventually forced the Authority to make it public. After the Authority capitulated, the court allowed the plaintiffs to file a supplemental brief. Plaintiff Aaron Fukuda said “We hope this brief puts a stake in the heart of this boondoggle. The Authority’s goal line defense to keep…
CHSRA Releases Blockbuster Document 11/03/15 Filed in: High-Speed Rail News broke late Tuesday that the HSR document reported on by the Los Angeles Times has been released by CHSRA. Editorials in the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune called it out as a red flag for the HSR project. See the Taxpayer Lawsuit for further details on how this affects the challenge to CHSRA. Tags: HSR Litigation
TRANSDEF Files STB Challenge 02/09/15 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In the second of two lawsuits filed today, TRANSDEF joined a coalition of non-profits and Central Valley county governments to challenge the decision of the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) preempting the application of CEQA to California’s HSR project. In what we consider to be a shocking use of state power, the California Attorney General has previously sought to eliminate the application of CEQA to the state’s HSR project. On October 9, 2014 the CHSRA petitioned the STB to block California courts from issuing injunctions that could stop construction of the…
TRANSDEF Files Caltrain Electrification Lawsuit 02/09/15 Filed in: High-Speed Rail | Transportation Planning TRANSDEF today joined in two litigation coalitions to file suit. In the first lawsuit, it joined the Town of Atherton and the Community Coalition on High-Speed Rail to challenge the Caltrain electrification EIR. TRANSDEF’s concern here is that spending $1.5 billion on electrification will not do much to help ridership. That same money would have a much bigger effect on ridership if it were spent to build the Caltrain Downtown Extension to the Transbay Transit Center. Worse, by trading its current surplus capacity to the California High-Speed Rail Authority for electrification funding, it places a cap on its future ridership. In an era of climate change,…
Supreme Court Turns Us Down 10/15/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In a very disappointing decision, the California Supreme Court today denied the Petitions for Review by the Tos petitioners, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the First Free Will Baptist Church on the Third Circuit High Speed Rail rulings in a case titled California High-Speed Rail Authority v. Superior Court. Stuart Flashman, counsel for the Tos petitioners, said, “My clients are obviously extremely disappointed in this decision. The Court of Appeal’s decision, which the Supreme Court has now let stand, means voters can no longer trust promises made in bond measures or tax measures.” Michael Brady, lead counsel for the Tos petitioners, said “The Court…
CHSRA Declares Independence from CEQA 10/09/14 Filed in: High-Speed Rail In a move that screams desperation, the California High-Speed Rail Authority filed a petition with the federal Surface Transportation Board for a declaratory order that would prevent any California court from issuing an injunction to stop the construction of the Fresno-Bakersfield portion of the project. CHSRA wants to hide behind federal preemption. See this page. By running to the feds for protection, CHSRA has told the world it cannot and will not play by California rules. In an earlier move seeking to protect its claim to federal preemption of environmental laws, CHSRA asked the Supreme Court to depublish the appellate decision in Town of Atherton…