Senate BillPassed first housePublic Utilities
SB 545: High-speed rail: economic opportunities.
What SB 545 does, verified December 7, 2025
This bill aims to promote economic growth and development along the California high-speed rail corridor and other planned high-speed rail projects. The Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development must commission a study on economic opportunities by January 1, 2027, and submit a progress report to relevant committees. The study's findings and recommendations must be completed and submitted to the legislature by January 1, 2028. Additionally, an infrastructure district that finances the high-speed rail project must dedicate a majority of its revenue to infrastructure projects within the local jurisdictions.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: August 29 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. (2025-08-29)Alert me
Author and sponsors
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| Aug. 29, 2025 | August 29 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. |
| Aug. 20, 2025 | August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| Aug. 20, 2025 | August 20 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file. |
| Jul. 17, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 1.) (July 16). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jul. 08, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 10. Noes 3.) (July 7). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV. |
Latest bill textAmended version, June 27, 2025 · 1,537 words
| Amended IN Assembly June 27, 2025 |
| Amended IN Senate May 23, 2025 |
| Amended IN Senate May 01, 2025 |
| Amended IN Senate April 23, 2025 |
| Amended IN Senate April 01, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 545
| Introduced by Senator Cortese (Coauthors: Senators Grayson and Wiener) |
February 20, 2025 |
An act to add Section 185035.5 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to high-speed rail.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 545, as amended, Cortese. High-speed rail: economic opportunities.
Existing law establishes the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation with specified powers and duties related to long-range planning and research. Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth. Existing law creates the High-Speed Rail Authority, with specified powers and duties related to the development and implementation of a high-speed train system.
This bill would require the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, on or before January 1, 2027, to commission a study on economic opportunities along the corridor of the California high-speed rail project, as defined, and other high-speed rail projects in California that are planned to directly connect to the California high-speed rail project, as provided, and to submit a progress report to the chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Transportation and the Assembly Committee on Transportation for input. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the study to be completed and a report on the study’s findings and recommendations to be submitted to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would require an infrastructure district, as defined, that uses its revenue to finance the construction of the high-speed rail project to dedicate a majority of its revenue to infrastructure projects within the jurisdiction of the local agencies that establish the district.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) California is home to 12 percent of the population of the United States and boasts the world’s fifth largest economy, generating 14 percent of the nation’s revenue. California leads the nation in agriculture, with the largest agricultural industry generating billions of dollars in revenue and employing thousands of people. California also hosts two of the nation’s three largest ports, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which serve as critical hubs for commerce and trade.
(b) As a global climate leader, California is committed to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and addressing climate change. Efficiently moving people across the state is vital to sustaining our economy and achieving our climate goals.
(c) California is building the nation’s first 220-miles-per-hour, fully electrified high-speed rail system, powered by 100 percent renewable energy. This project will deliver substantial benefits for the state, including all of the following:
(1) Economic impact as demonstrated by all of the following:
(A) The creation of 3,000 future jobs.
(B) Fourteen thousand seven hundred forty-four construction jobs that have already been dispatched.
(C) The engagement of 881 small businesses.
(2) Social impact as demonstrated by $6,600,000,000 invested in disadvantaged communities.
(3) Environmental impact as demonstrated by all of the following:
(A) The avoidance of 142,000,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions during system operation.
(B) Five hundred seventy thousand eight hundred forty pounds of criteria air pollutants already eliminated through clean construction practices.
(C) The sequestration and avoidance of 27,707 metric tons of carbon through habitat conservation.
(D) The maintenance of a net-positive balance in carbon-neutral construction.
SEC. 2.
Section 185035.5 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read:185035.5.
(a) (1) On or before January 1, 2027, the(2) On or before January 1, 2028, the study described in paragraph (1) shall be completed and a report on the study’s findings and recommendations shall be submitted to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
(3) The study to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(b) The study shall do all of the following:
(1) Assess funding potential across a variety of funding mechanisms that can support the high-speed rail capital program or discrete system elements.
(2) Explore potential development opportunities associated with expanded authorities within specific areas that accelerate development and maximize associated value.
(3) Explore methods that will result in a direct community benefit to parcels adjacent to stations and parcels in communities along the corridor of the California high-speed rail project, including, but not limited to, creation of joint power agreements, density bonuses, permitting and environmental review efficiencies, and exemptions that help expedite development and increase property values.
(4) Identify incentives for public-private partnerships.
(5) Identify opportunities to secure federal funds, including federal loans.
(6) Establish a specific radius or radii of contiguity with any portion of the corridor of the California high-speed rail project within which all properties would be eligible for participation in any identified infrastructure district that will maximize value and development potential.
(7) Identify publicly owned parcels within the corridor of the California high-speed rail project, including surplus real property, that can be combined to increase their feasibility for development and opportunity for value capture.
(8) Determine the feasibility of establishing an unlimited timeframe for the operation of any infrastructure district established along the corridor of the California high-speed rail project.
(9) Identify available air rights around stations and other high-speed rail system structures for potential development and value capture opportunities.
(10) Explore all of the following strategies to support development and maximize public benefit along the corridor of the California high-speed rail project:
(A) Identify methods to finance infrastructure and development near stations and throughout the corridor of the California high-speed rail project by forming infrastructure districts using existing tools, including, but not limited to, enhanced infrastructure financing districts and neighborhood infill finance and transit improvement areas.
(B) Evaluate opportunities for revenue-generating land uses in and around station areas and throughout the corridor of the California high-speed rail project that enhance public benefits and access to amenities on publicly owned land or infrastructure, including opportunities to support housing, commercial activity, transportation services, community facilities, and sustainable infrastructure.
(C) Assess opportunities for goods movement along the corridor of the California high-speed rail project, including, but not limited to, linked parcel-carrying train cars or other cargo delivery arrangements.
(11) Survey local cities and counties along the corridor of the California high-speed rail project to identify what economic incentives would motivate them to participate in a state-local partnership.
(12) Quantify increases to the cost of housing, if any, and cost reductions that at least offset those cost increases, as determined by a survey of homebuilders and land developers who are members of the California Building Industry Association.
(c) The study shall consider both of the following:
(1) Land value, development incentives, value creation, infrastructure districts, governance models, and methods that provide new revenue and produce the outcomes necessary for the completion of the high-speed rail project while more effectively connecting communities to existing modes of transportation and providing a direct benefit to local communities.
(2) The integration of adjacent rail services and the development opportunities that can help advance the construction of the high-speed rail system.
(d) The study shall also analyze the corridor of the California high-speed rail project against several boundaries to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of opportunities for value creation and value capture activities.
(e) An infrastructure district that uses its revenue to finance the construction of the high-speed rail project shall dedicate at least a majority of its revenue to infrastructure projects within the jurisdiction of the local agencies that establish the infrastructure district.
(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “California high-speed rail project” means Phase 1 of the high-speed train project described in Section 2704.04 of the Streets and Highways Code.
(2) “Infrastructure district” means any of the following:
(A) An enhanced infrastructure financing district created pursuant to Chapter 2.99 (commencing with Section 53398.50) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code.
(B) A community revitalization and investment authority created pursuant to Division 4 (commencing with Section 62000) of Title 6 of the Government Code.
(C) A community facilities district created pursuant to Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 53311) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code.
(D) Any other district, joint powers authority, or other agency established by a local agency for the primary purpose of financing infrastructure projects, including those with a state agency member, such as the authority.
Text of SB 545 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions