Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, issued the following statement Tuesday in response to the groundbreaking of the California High-Speed Rail Project:

“Today’s High-Speed Rail groundbreaking shows utter negligence and disregard for taxpayer dollars. With no additional funding sources identified, today’s act violates the provisions of Prop 1A. We need to derail this project now, and re-purpose those committed dollars to school facilities for K-12 and higher education. We need world-class facilities to allow our children to compete in an increasingly competitive global economy.”

Wilk recently introduced Assembly Bill 6, which will give voters the chance in November 2016 to halt the sale of bonds sold for high-speed rail purposes as stated in Proposition 1A (2008) and would also require the redirection of unspent dollars received from outstanding bonds issued and sold for other high-speed rail purposes. This measure would also require the net proceeds of other bonds later issued and sold under the high-speed rail portion of the bond act to be made available to fund construction of school facilities for K-12 and higher education.

“I hope the education community will join me in supporting AB 6 so we can redirect the remaining $8 billion in HSRP bond dollars toward school construction. AB 6 will give voters an opportunity to weigh in as to their support for a train or for schools,” stated Wilk.

On Monday, Wilk released the following statement in response to Gov. Jerry Brown’s fourth inaugural address:

“On the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of Governor Edmund G. ‘Pat’ Brown, I applaud Governor Jerry Brown on his historic 4th Inauguration as the 39th Governor of California.

I was disappointed the governor didn’t offer a clear vision for moving forward on our successes of last session that included a rainy day fund, a water bond, California’s Film Tax Credit and a first step to begin paying down the state’s wall of debt.

I appreciate the governor’s reaffirmation that the $7 billion in Prop 30 taxes will be temporary.  Our Assembly Republican Caucus will be an active partner with the governor in protecting California taxpayers.

Governor Brown’s new 2030 objectives for greenhouse gas reductions is admirable, but will be in vain if we are not working with the rest of the industrialized world and emerging economies. California is the 8th largest economy in the world and yet we produce less than 1% of carbon emissions.  So pursuing these policies in isolation will cripple our state’s economy and not impact the global environment.

As always I’m happy to support the Governor when he’s right and happy to oppose him when he’s wrong.”

Scott Wilk’s 38th Assembly District encompasses Simi Valley, the northwestern section of the San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley.