Federal funding for California's high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco dried up after the 2010 midterm elections, when conservative opposition overwhelmed President Obama's national high-speed rail plan.
But the state's new budget, approved this week, secures for high-speed rail 25% of California cap-and-trade revenue each year. The revenue comes from companies buying offsets to cover carbon their businesses produce, and it's estimated the deal could eventually deliver between $3 billion and $5 billion in annual funding to the nation's most ambitious transportation project.