California’s high-speed rail likely to get $250 million from state budget

(Photo Credit: California High-Speed Rail Authority)

California’s high-speed rail project could get $250 million if the proposed state budget becomes law.

The California State Assembly on Sunday approved a $156.4 billion budget plan for fiscal year 2015, which starts July 1, Reuters reports.

The plan allocates $250 million for the state’s controversial high-speed rail project. The funding comes from a cap-and-trade program, which, according to Reuters, “collects a fee after polluters buy and sell their rights to emit carbon into the air.”

The project has faced a number of problems in the past 14 months, including design changes, a cost that has doubled, difficulties meeting required trip times and debate over when the state should be allowed to spend federal grant money on the bullet train.

The 2015 funding for the project is not yet certain. The budget still needs a vote from the state’s Senate, then Gov. Jerry Brown will need to sign it into law.