Tulare assemblywoman wants to move High-Speed Rail funding to wildfire prevention

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A section assemblywoman wants to defund the California High-Speed Rail to walk much wealth connected wildfire prevention. Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo (R-Tulare) believes that colossal task is simply a colossal failure.

“When this was passed, it was a $30 cardinal project. We're present implicit $120 billion,” Macedo said.

She thinks it is clip to propulsion the breaks connected the project.

“It's a precedence contented that I recognize radical that are like, ‘we've made these investments,’ but the High-Speed Rail task has proven with the wealth they're given, they're not responsible,” Macedo said.

A authorities discretionary money gives $1 cardinal a twelvemonth to that project. However, aft seeing the L.A. wildfires, Macedo drafted AB 267 to reallocate that wealth toward wildfire prevention successful the signifier of h2o retention and transportation.

High-Speed Rail supporters say they should not person to take betwixt them.

Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced) sent Yourcentravalley.com a connection saying successful part, "The past clip I checked, this infrastructure task has employed implicit 10,000 Central Valley residents, supported hundreds of tiny section businesses and brought unprecedented amounts of backing for different indispensable infrastructure investments that our portion would person ne'er seen otherwise."

In a caller interview, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer besides praised the project’s economical impact.

“This is truly our accidental to beryllium reconnected to that California system done the High-Speed Rail. If you tin ideate – radical moving successful the Silicon Valley but surviving successful Downtown Fresno,” Dyer said.

Macedo does not deliberation the authorities should money both. She sees the High-Speed Rail arsenic a chill idea, but says, compared to wildfire prevention, it is simply a overmuch little priority.

“In a cleanable world, we could decorativeness this project, but we don't beryllium successful a cleanable world,” Macedo said.

Yourcentralvalley.com besides reached retired to the California High-Speed Rail Authority to perceive their thoughts connected the bill, but they said they bash not remark connected pending litigation. They did, however, tout that the task has generated $21.8 cardinal for the Central Valley economy.