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California Proposition 116, Rail Transportation Bond Initiative (June 1990)

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California Proposition 116
Flag of California.png
Election date
June 5, 1990
Topic
Bond issues and Transportation
Status
Approveda Approved
Type
State statute
Origin
Citizens

California Proposition 116 was on the ballot as an initiated state statute in California on June 5, 1990. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported issuing nearly $2 billion in bonds for passenger and commuter rail transportation projects.

A "no" vote opposed issuing nearly $2 billion in bonds for passenger and commuter rail transportation projects.


Election results

California Proposition 116

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

2,579,810 53.26%
No 2,263,573 46.74%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Aftermath

In 2005, the State of California stopped depositing transportation-earmarked funds into the Public Transportation Account (PTA).

The California Transit Association (CTA) filed a lawsuit on October 10, 2007, seeking to halt the diversions in 2007 and to have funds that had been diverted restored to the PTA. A California state appeals court ruled unanimously in June 2009 that the state’s diversion of funds since 2007 was improper and denied the state’s contention that the recently created "Mass Transportation Fund" (MTF) was a proper recipient for PTA funds and further that PTA funds could not be diverted prior to placement in PTA accounts.[1]

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 116 was as follows:

Rail Transportation. Bond Act. Initiative Statute.

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

Authorizes general obligation bond issue of $1,990,000.000 to provide funds principally for passenger and commuter rail systems, with limited funds available for public mass transit guideways, paratransit vehicles, bicycle and ferry facilities, and railroad technology museum. Allocates certain amounts to specified state and local entities through a grant program administered by the California Transportation Commission. Program will require some matching funds from local entities. Appropriates money from state General Fund to pay off bonds.

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Fiscal impact

The fiscal estimate provided by the California Legislative Analyst's Office said:[2]

Direct Costs of Paying Off the Bonds. For these types of bonds, the state typically makes principal and interest payments from the state's General Fund over a period of about 20 years. If all of the bonds authorized by this measure are sold at an interest rate of 7.5 percent, the cost would be about $3.6 billion to pay off both the principal ($2 billion) and interest ($1.6 billion). The average payment for principal and interest would be about $180 million per year.[3]

Path to the ballot

In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast at the preceding gubernatorial election. For initiated statutes filed in 1990, at least 372,178 valid signatures were required.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Bay Area Public Transportation Examiner, "Court affirms $4 billion transit raid to be returned," October 5, 2009
  2. University of California, "Official Voter Guide," accessed July 8, 2021
  3. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.