No More Excuses – Audit the High Speed Rail

January 17, 2018 By Joel Fox 9 Comments

Gov. Jerry Brown, Anne GustWith the revelation yesterday that the high-speed rail budget for the Central Valley segment jumped a whopping $2.8 billion there are no more excuses to prevent an independent audit of the rail project.

The cost for the Central Valley leg of the undertaking has jumped more than 75% from an original estimate of $6 billion to the newly revealed $10.6 billion. When voters approved state bonds to help build the venture, the total bond amount was actually under this new cost figure, less than $10 billion.

At the time of the bond vote in 2008, voters were told the entire bullet train project designed to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles was around $40 billion. That figure soon zoomed to almost $100 billion then settled back to around $64 billion.

What is the total cost to taxpayers now and how is the money being spent? An audit will tell us.

There have been previous audits of the system in 2010 and 2012. Both previous audits emphasized the risk involved in the high-speed rail undertaking.

Assemblyman Jim Patterson of Fresno in November requested an emergency audit of the high-speed rail project. Al Murasutchi, Chair of the Legislative Audit Committee, rejected the emergency audit bid. Because the legislature was in recess at the time, committee chairs have the authority to request an emergency audit. Now that the legislature is back in session, Patterson intends to request an audit before the Joint Legislative Audit Committee on January 30th.

There are no excuses this time. The taxpayers have a right to know how this long delayed, cost overrun project stands. An audit of the high-speed rail must go forward.

 is editor and Co-Publisher of Fox and Hounds Daily.

This article was originally published by Fox and Hounds Daily

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , ,

Which legislators stood up for California taxpayers this session?

October 31, 2017 By Jon Coupal 6 Comments

CapitolIn 2017, the California Legislature launched a sustained and withering assault on middle-class taxpayers. Its victories were numerous and significant: A $75 per document recording tax was approved, affecting up to 400 different transactions; a gas and car tax, which takes effect November 1, will cost California households another $600 a year; and an increase in environmental regulations, known as cap-and-trade, could increase the cost of fuel by an additional 70 cents/gallon by 2030.

In the face of such devastating policies, it is easy for taxpayers to question whether legislators will ever be held accountable. However, a useful tool to assist taxpayers is the annual legislative Report Card published by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Introduced back in 2007, the point of the report card is to document how lawmakers have voted on issues important to taxpayers. Lawmakers tend to hide behind statements, often of dubious veracity, to justify their votes. The report card sets aside motives, politics and party affiliations and simply asks one question: did legislators stand up for the interests of taxpayers?  While politicians may obfuscate, the numbers don’t lie.

HJTA’s 2017 scorecard featured a list of 22 bills which, represents a broad sample size, making it easy to see who is either a friend to taxpayers or beholden to the special interests that pervade the state Capitol. Beyond the obvious tax increases listed above, other bills include those that make it easier for local governments to increase sales taxes, and allow for San Francisco Bay Area residents to increase bridge tolls. Attacks on the initiative process are another common theme highlighted in the scorecard.

Given the policy breadth of the bills listed above, it should come as no surprise that the 2017 scorecard was nothing short of abysmal. A record 79 legislators failed the scorecard while only 24 got a grade of “A.” Ten legislators received the coveted and difficult to get perfect score in 2017: Assembly Members Travis Allen, Brian Dahle, Vince Fong, Jay Obernolte and Jim Patterson. They were joined by State Sens. Joel Anderson, Patricia Bates, Jean Fuller, Mike Morrell and Jeff Stone. These legislators should be commended for their diligence on behalf of taxpayers. …

Click here to read the full article from the Orange County Register

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Will Gov. Brown Sign Bill Requiring Stricter Oversight of High-Speed Rail?

April 21, 2016 By Joel Fox 3 Comments

High speed railSometimes watching Governor Jerry Brown in action you often think of Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re going to get.” A recent example: the Jerry Brown who holds a relatively tight reign on the budget in support of economic prudence dismisses economic theory for what he termed a moralistic stand when signing the minimum wage bill.

These thoughts swirl as the Assembly Transportation Committee unanimously passed AB2847 by Assemblyman Jim Patterson requiring stricter oversight on the costs and scope of the high-speed rail project.

Brown is the bullet train’s greatest advocate. He’s also been the state’s leading preacher within the government hierarchy on fiscal responsibility. If AB2847 clears committee and floor votes and ends up on the governor’s desk will he sign it?

The measure, following recommendations out of the Legislative Analyst’s Office, requires details on costs, schedules and scope of each segment of the train’s building progress, and, importantly, demands to know how the segment will be paid for.

The cost question is paramount because voters were told private funding was part of the formula for financing the rail project. No major private funder have stepped forward. In addition, an appeals court is considering a lawsuit over the legality of the cap-and-trade money, a large chunk of which is dedicated to the high-speed rail.

As Assemblyman Patterson notes, “The Rail Authority is tasked with the largest infrastructure project in modern times and is on track to spend billions upon billions of public resources.” We ought to know more detail about the project.

The Legislature appears to be bending to pubic concerns about the seemingly flimsy promises and financial quagmire that the train project could present.

With Brown’s signature on the minimum wage bill and his pronouncement that morality trumps economy, he could position himself similarly on the high-speed rail, although it’s hard to see how the bullet train is a lesson in morality.

It’s a bit ironic, I suppose, that given technological advancements over the last four decades, that what Brown was excoriated for in his first iteration as governor — a proposed state operated satellite, which earned him the sobriquet “Moonbeam” — might seem a more acceptable project today than his down-to-earth bullet train that could go nowhere.

Originally published by Fox and Hounds Daily

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , , ,

Legislative Report Card: Who Passes; Who Fails On Taxes?

November 6, 2015 By Jon Coupal Leave a Comment
Photo courtesy Franco Folini, flickr

Photo courtesy Franco Folini, flickr

Like inattentive students who dread having their parents see their unsatisfactory grades, most members of the California Legislature would just as soon not have their constituents see the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Legislative Report Card documenting their votes on issues important to taxpayers.

Of the 120 members of the Legislature, 73 received a grade of “F” while only 36 earned an “A” grade.

The Report Card is a non-partisan tool for citizen taxpayers to hold legislators accountable based on actual legislative votes. It was Will Rogers who said, “If you ever injected truth into politics you have no politics.” While a satirist is allowed to paint with a broad brush, there is still more than a grain of truth here. Many in the political class dishonestly attempt to present themselves as standing for the interests of average folks. They pay lip service to low and moderate income Californians, while voting to make getting to work more expensive by increasing the already tops in the nation gasoline tax. They claim to be supporters of homeownership, but support measures that would increase the tax burden on property owners.

In the legislative session that ended last month, Governor Brown signed 808 bills. These bills create thousands of pages of new laws, spanning across dozens of code sections. The HJTA Legislative Report Card pulls the curtain back and identifies for taxpayers legislation that harms their interests, bills that otherwise do not receive much public attention. A prime example is Senate Bill 705 (Hill) a bill that was completely amended in the last month of session that allows for San Mateo and Monterey counties to pursue increased sales taxes beyond those authorized in current law.

The Report Card also rewards lawmakers who supported legislation that helps taxpayers like Assembly Bill 809 (Obernolte), an HJTA sponsored proposal that places additional information regarding tax increases in the ballot for all voters to see.

Votes on sixteen bills were used to score legislators. These reflect a range of policy issues including new tax and regulatory burdens, and attacks on the initiative process that would make it more difficult for taxpayers to have their voices heard.

With over a quarter of the members of the Legislature new to Sacramento politics, the HJTA Report Card provides an early indication as to who will be faithful to the interests of taxpayers. While grades have improved slightly over last year, it is clear that this new legislative class has started off by falling well short of taxpayer expectations.

Eight lawmakers deserve credit for a perfect score. Members of the Assembly receiving 100 percent are Frank Bigelow, Brian Jones, Beth Gaines, Tom Lackey, Chad Mayes, Jay Obernolte, and Jim Patterson. Senator Mike Morrell also received a perfect score.

To view the 2015 Legislative Report Card, and find which representatives are proud of their grades and which ones hope no one notices, please go to www.hjta.org where it can be found under “Hot Topics.” And remember, a functioning democracy depends on an informed electorate.

Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis  Taxpayers Association — California’s largest grass-roots taxpayer organization dedicated to the protection of Proposition 13 and the advancement of taxpayers’ rights.

Filed Under: Top Stories Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,