SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The California Supreme Court says federal law does not exempt state rail projects from California’s strict environmental review law. The decision on Thursday ensures continued legal complications for the $64 billion high-speed rail project championed by Gov. Jerry Brown. The high court voted 6-1 to overturn a lower court ruling and in doing so gave renewed hope to those who have used the California Environmental Quality Act to challenge the train. The state’s High-Speed Rail Authority had urged the court to find that federal law trumps the state’s environmental law. The court said that a lower court interpreted federal law too broadly when it agreed with the rail authority that federal law trumped state review.
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