SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 12 CA-California-High
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaker of the California State
Assembly Fabian Nunez has appointed Thomas Umberg to the California High-Speed
Rail Authority -- the state agency responsible for planning, constructing and
operating a high-speed train system serving California's major metropolitan
areas.
Mr. Umberg served three terms in the California Legislature, most recently
between 2004 and 2006. While in the California Assembly, he chaired the
Committee on Environmental Safety and the Committee on Elections &
Redistricting. During his tenure as a legislator, Mr. Umberg authored 58
measures that were signed into law, including statutes involving white-collar
crime, toll way authorization, mortgage fraud, telemarketing fraud, hate
crimes, toxic waste cleanup, housing loans, election reform, campaign finance
reform, high-speed transportation, and a variety of other transportation
issues.
"We couldn't be happier that Tom is officially on the high-speed train
team," said Quentin L. Kopp, Chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority
Board. "Tom brings both extensive experience in transportation and a
comprehensive understanding of the issues facing Californians in regard to
strengthening our transportation infrastructure."
Mr. Umberg is a leading litigation partner in the Orange County office of
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. In 1995, Mr. Umberg served as Assistant U.S.
Attorney in Los Angeles and Orange County. As a federal criminal prosecutor he
tried numerous white-collar and civil rights cases.
In 1997, Mr. Umberg was nominated by President Bill Clinton and
unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate as Deputy Director of the
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). As Deputy Director
he was responsible for the development and coordination of United States
policy to reduce the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, as well as
counter-drug intelligence and interdiction. Mr. Umberg was the United States
signatory to the historic hemispheric Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism signed
in Montevideo, Uruguay. He served as a senior member to the U.S./Mexico High
Level Contact Group and as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Summit of
the Americas in Santiago, Chile. He led U.S. delegations to Mexico, Colombia,
Venezuela, Brazil, and several other Latin-American countries.
"I thank Speaker Nunez for this opportunity," said Mr. Umberg. "This is a
great opportunity to be part of making transportation history in California.
I look forward to contributing to bringing the high-speed train system to
California and creating a cleaner more efficient form of transportation to
enhance our state's future."
Established in 1996, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority)
has a nine-member policy board (five appointed by the governor, two appointed
by the Senate Rules Committee, and two by the speaker of the Assembly) and a
small core staff. All environmental, planning and engineering work is
performed by private firms under contract with the Authority.
With the certification of the Statewide Final Program-Level Environmental
Impact Report (EIR)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the Authority has
begun implementation of the 800-mile high-speed train system serving
Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the
Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego. High-speed trains will be capable
of maximum speeds of 220 miles per hour with an expected trip time from San
Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 hours and 40 minutes. The system is forecast to
potentially carry over 100 million passengers per year by 2030.
A $9.95 billion dollar bond measure is on the November 2008 ballot with
$9 billion for implementing the high-speed train system and $950 million for
improvements to other rail services that connect to the high-speed train
service. This bond measure requires a simple majority vote for approval.
SOURCE California High-Speed Rail Authority
