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Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) issued the following statement after a recent article published in the Los Angeles Times cited that the High Speed Rail Authority seized land from Central Valley farmers to build the tracks for the bullet train and now the Authority owes these farmers thousands of dollars:
“It is shameful and frustrating that the bureaucrats at the High Speed Rail Authority can rush the process to take valuable farmland out of production, but when it comes to paying those farmers for their land, suddenly, the HSRA is nowhere to be found.
“Enough is enough. If Democrats in Sacramento are going to take prime agricultural land from our families in the Central Valley to build their train, the least they can do is pay for the land in a reasonable amount of time. If they can’t even do that, then it is time for the Governor to step in and start paying these farmers interest on what they are owed. After all, it’s not like the farmers can keep delaying their payments to the bank without being held accountable!
“The endless excuses from the Authority are just unbelievable, and the only reason they are still getting away with it is because Sacramento is allowing it. As it stands right now, the cost of this pet project is $120 million per mile, and rising by the second. It is time to stop the big rail fail,” said Senate Republican Leader Shannon Grove.