A $5 billion bond that would have given Californians rebates to buy alternative fuel vehicles has failed.
Voters defeated Proposition 10 after a coalition of environmentalists warned it would steer taxpayer money to Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
The natural gas fueling company he founded, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., gave nearly $19 million to bond initiative.
With 49 percent of the vote counted Tuesday, nearly 62 of voters had rejected the measure.
It would have would have provided rebates of up to $50,000 for buyers of vehicles that run on natural gas and other alternative fuels. The measure also would have set aside money for research.
Supporters had said providing rebates would put less polluting cars on the road and reduce the state's addiction to foreign oil.
