STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 23 May 2014

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19. California’s $68 Billion Train Seeks Bond Sale Approval

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-23/california-s-68-billion-train-seeks-bond-sale-approval.html

The California High-Speed Rail Authority will seek to get its plans for the first U.S. bullet-train back on track today when it asks an appeals court for approval to issue $8 billion in bonds to finance the project.

The agency suffered a setback in November when a state judge blocked it from issuing bonds because a committee didn’t adequately disclose the reasons for the financing. The judge told the authority to withdraw its funding plan.

The November decision threatens to delay and increase the cost of the first-in-the-nation bullet-train, state officials say. With public support for the $68 billion project waning, lawyers for the authority will tell the Sacramento-based appeals court that the committee’s decision isn’t reviewable and, if it is, members had sufficient grounds to approve the plan.

“The committee had all the evidence it needed to authorize the bonds: the Bond Act itself, which declares the high-speed rail system to be in the public interest,” Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Zook said in a court filing.