For what it's worth, here's a press release that Schwarzenegger's office issued today:

Gov. Schwarzenegger Puts Taxpayer Protections into

High Speed Rail Bond on November Ballot

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed AB 3034, authored by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgiani (D- Livingston), adding taxpayer protections and financial guidelines to the High-Speed Train Bond Act on the November 2008 ballot.

“Californians deserve the opportunity to vote on a high speed rail proposition that includes taxpayer protections and financial guidelines,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.  “With these technical changes, voters can now be assured that if the bond is approved, high speed rail would be built as planned and with fiscal controls ensuring financial accountability.”

AB 3034 will replace Proposition 1 with Proposition 1A on the November ballot. The measure improves the High-Speed Train Bond Act by including fiscal controls for taxpayer protection including the requirement of a peer reviewed financial plan before bond money can be spent. Additionally, the measure enables public-private partnership financing and limits the amount of bond money that can be spent on non-construction items.


John-Marc Chandonia wrote: 
The bulk of Alameda's argument against Prop 1 is that all the money so
far has gone to a corrupt contractor.  However, the legislation does
not require that contractor to actually build it; we could still
approve the bond and then try to get our state reps to raise concerns
about the contractor.  Besides, if we blocked every government project
built by corrupt contractors, we'd be living on sand dunes.

I also agree that the promotional case for rail is overblown in terms
of ridership, but we should look towards how many people will want to
ride the rail after the effects of peak oil become more apparent, and
the cost of driving or flying to LA becomes prohibitive.  The power
for an electric train can come from a variety of sources, and don't
necessarily have to come from coal.  It's much more likely to get
something built if we start now, and not after gas becomes even more
expensive (as that will raise costs for construction and materials,
and voters who can't afford to drive to work will be even less likely
to pass a bond).

JMC
  

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