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California high speed rail needs $7B bailout, could lose federal funds | California

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www.thecentersquare.com – Kenneth Schrupp – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-27 18:30:00

(The Center Square) – California’s $35 billion high speed rail project for its sparsely populated Central Valley requires at least a $7 billion bailout to be done by 2033.

The Trump administration is investigating federal funding of the project, and a bill in Congress could end further federal funding for the project entirely.

“There is a funding gap of roughly $7 billion for completing the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment,” wrote the state-funded Legislative Analyst’s Office. “Other factors could drive growth in the project’s funding gap, including: (1) potential loss of federal funds, such as those that have not yet been obligated; (2) inflation and other construction cost increases; (3) uncertainty related to assumed future [state Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund] revenues.”

The LAO also noted the California High Speed Rail Authority Office of the Inspector General said, “HSRA needs to secure funds to meet most of its identified funding gap before June 2026 to avoid negative impacts on the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment schedule.”

The Trump administration’s Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy cited the new shortfall in a X post highlighting the status of the state’s long-delayed Los Angeles to San Francisco train, which was approved by voters in 2008 at a cost of $33 billion.

Duffy said that of $15 billion spent on the project thus far, $2.5 billion was from federal funding and that $4 billion in “unspent federal money is under review.” He also said “zero high-speed track” has been laid and that the total cost for the LA-SF line “has soared to over $100B with no expected completion date.” 

He said he will “continue to investigate this project to determine how exactly federal dollars have been used and whether federal support should continue.”

Should a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-California, pass, the project would not be eligible for future federal funding. 

“The CA High-Speed Rail disaster has somehow gotten even worse,” said Kiley. “I’ve introduced legislation to cut off all federal funding and end the project for good.”

On his nationally syndicated iHeartRadio podcast “This is Gavin Newsom,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom was challenged by a guest, New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, about the state’s delays and cost overruns building the project.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got these constraints that are well established and existing constraints,” responded Newsom, who hosts the podcast. “There’s not a high-speed rail system that doesn’t have some popularity and success. Most are wildly popular. It’s an experience no one has had in the United States of America. At least we’re out there daring.”

At the state level, Republican lawmakers have responded to the lack of a plan on how to fund the rest of the first leg of the project by proposing a bill to require HSRA to provide such a plan.

The bill, AB 377, unanimously passed the Assembly Transportation Committee with full bipartisan support and now heads to the Appropriations Committee.

“Without a clear financial roadmap, the project risks leaving Fresno with an incomplete, unusable infrastructure — a modern-day Stonehenge,” said bill author Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, through whose district the train would run. “By statutorily requiring a funding plan, AB 377 forces accountability before more taxpayer money is wasted on government mismanagement.”

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Helene: Proposal brings back help accessing federal money | North Carolina

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www.thecentersquare.com – Alan Wooten – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-30 08:01:00

(The Center Square) – Small businesses’ access to federal aid in rebuilding from Hurricane Helene is supported through a North Carolina congressman’s proposal in the House of Representatives.



U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C.




Helene Small Business Recovery Act, authored by Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., drew the immediate support when filed last week of Democratic Rep. Don Davis and Republican Reps. Virginia Foxx and David Rouzer, all of North Carolina. The 5th Congressional District of Foxx and 11th of Edwards were significantly hit by the storm six months earlier, and the 7th Congressional District of Rouzer and the 1st of Davis are in the southeastern and eastern regions, respectively, of the state and the most often hit places by hurricanes.

The Helene Small Business Recovery Act clarifies that SBA loans and federal grants, like those that will be offered through the CDBG-DR program, are not duplicative,” Edwards said in a release. “Without this clarification, businesses that took an SBA loan to keep themselves afloat would be prohibited from accessing federal grant money when it becomes available.

“Loans and grants are inherently different, and this bill will allow small business owners access to both federal resources so that western North Carolina, and every small business that makes our mountains such a great place to live, has the resources needed to recover.”

CDBG-DR is the acronym for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery; SBA is an acronym for Small Business Administration.

The Stafford Act doesn’t allow federal agencies to duplicate benefits, and a loan is considered duplicative of a grant. SBA loans must be repaid; CDBG-DR grants are one-time payments to victims that do not have to be repaid.

A sunset passed in 2021 on the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 that, temporarily, said a loan is not part of a grant, Edwards’ release said.

The American Relief Act aiding in Helene recovery awarded $1.65 billion in disaster block grants to western North Carolina.

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Louisiana voters overwhelmingly reject all four constitutional amendments | Louisiana

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www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-29 20:32:00

(The Center Square) — Louisiana voters overwhelmingly rejected four proposed constitutional amendments which aimed to reshape the state’s approach to justice, juvenile crime, taxation, and judicial elections. Each amendment was rejected by more than 60% of voters.

“This was a “primal scream” kind of vote, driven by robust Democratic EV turnout that I’m not seeing being offset by a strong GOP Election Day vote,” John Couvillon, an award-winning pollster, said in a post on X. 

“Although we are disappointed in tonight’s results, we do not see this as a failure. We realize how hard positive change can be to implement in a state that is conditioned for failure,” Gov. Jeff Landry said in a statement. “We will continue working to give our citizens more opportunities to keep more of their hard-earned money and provide a better future for Louisianians. This is not the end for us, and we will continue to fight to make the generational changes for Louisiana to succeed.” 

Amendment 1: Expanded Court Powers and Specialty Courts

Voters rejected a measure expanding the Louisiana Supreme Court’s disciplinary authority over out-of-state attorneys and allowing lawmakers to establish specialized trial courts that cross district lines. The amendment followed controversy over mass hurricane lawsuits filed by an out-of-state law firm and was challenged in court earlier this month. Amendment 1 was rejected by over 170,000 votes.

Amendment 2: Sweeping Fiscal Overhaul

Amendment 2, which would have rewrote Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution, was rejected by over 150,000 votes. The 100+ page overhaul includes capping state spending growth, consolidating reserve funds, shifting nearly $2 billion from education savings accounts to pay down retirement debt, and phasing out business inventory taxes. It has been a cornerstone of Landry’s tax reform agenda. 

Amendment 3: Adult Prosecution for Juveniles

This amendment would allow lawmakers to expand the list of crimes for which minors can be tried as adults without another constitutional vote. Authored by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek and opposed by youth justice advocates who argue the current list is already broad enough, Amendment 3 saw the most resounding rejection−a margin of over 180,000.

Amendment 4: Judicial Election Timing Fix

A technical amendment to align special judicial election timing with Louisiana’s soon-to-be closed-party primary system was rejected by over 120,000. Supporters say it prevents logistical issues when filling judicial vacancies; opponents said the change was minor and could have been handled by statute. It was the only measure not subject to a legal challenge.

 

 

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Live Nation battles anti-competitive allegations on multiple levels | National

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www.thecentersquare.com – Brett Rowland – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-29 11:20:00

(The Center Square) – Live Nation Entertainment, the events giant that operates Ticketmaster, is fighting to hold on to practices that states and the federal government allege are anti-competitive and hurt both fans and musicians.

The company recently lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation runs a monopoly that most recently came under fire during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour as fans struggled to get limited tickets to fast-selling shows. 

District Judge Arun Subramanian denied Live Nation’s motion to dismiss the federal action, ruling the DOJ could proceed with its case.

“These allegations aren’t just about a refusal to deal with rival promotors,” Subramanian wrote in his ruling. “They are about the coercion of artists.”

Live Nation is also working on multiple fronts at the state level. More than 25 states and Puerto Rico debated more than 75 bills on ticket sales during 2023 legislative sessions after the fallout from Swift’s mega-tour, according to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In the wake of the Eras collapse, Arkansas stopped local governments from banning the sale or resale of a ticket at any price; Maine required resellers to refund customers in some circumstances; and Oklahoma prohibited the use of software to bypass controls on a ticket seller’s website, according to the NCL report. In 2016, Congress passed similar legislation banning the use of bots on ticket websites.

In Massachusetts, Live Nation spent $120,000 lobbying lawmakers to pass the Mass Leads Act, a $4 billion economic development measure that ran 319 pages, according to The Verge. Despite opposition from consumer groups, it also allows ticket sellers to restrict the transferability of the tickets they sell, meaning a buyer could be limited to reselling on the seller’s platform. 

The Chamber of Progress, a tech industry trade group, asked the governor to amend the bill, concerned that Live Nation could use ticket terms to force buyers to resell tickets exclusively on their own platform, “further entrenching their monopoly position in the live events ecosystem,” according to a letter from the group.

The Chamber of Progress also opposed a bill in New Mexico to cap resale prices. The group said in a letter that price caps were arbitrary and ineffective.

Diana Moss, of the Progressive Policy Institute, said Live Nation is “pursuing an aggressive state-level campaign to push for laws that effectively regulate the resale market while [the company] continues to operate, unfettered, in the primary market.”

Live Nation has defended its practices. Dan Wall, executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs at Live Nation Entertainment, wrote in a blog post that the company isn’t a monopoly and doesn’t reap monopolistic profits.

“The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing. Live Nation in no way fits the profile,” Wall wrote. “Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than on SeatGeek, AXS, or other primary ticketing sites, and are frequently lower. In fact, when Ticketmaster loses a venue to SeatGeek, service charges usually go up substantially. And even accounting for sponsorship, an advertising business that helps keep ticket prices down, Live Nation’s overall net profit margin is at the low end of profitable S&P 500 companies.”

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