California made it mandatory for the govt to hold a certain percentage of their budget in a surplus fund after the last time the state almost went bankrupt whic

California made it mandatory for the govt to hold a certain percentage of their budget in a surplus fund after the last time the state almost went bankrupt which also has a cap - hence the surplus and the refund. Otherwise, I agree. CA definitely has the money to build a HSR. Tax collection has been extraordinarily good the last few years in spite of all the challenges.