The state’s $68-billion bullet train project will proceed after the California Supreme Court decided Wednesday not to review a lower court ruling that said project officials have complied with a high-speed rail ballot measure that voters approved in 2008.

Kings County and two Central Valley landowners had filed an appeal to the Supreme Court in September challenging an appellate court decision in July that said the California High-Speed Rail Authority basically met the initiative’s requirements related to developing a financing plan.

Wednesday’s decision “reaffirms that the Authority can continue building a modern high-speed rail system that connects the state, creates jobs and complies with the law,” Dan Richard, chairman of the authority’s board, said in a statement. “We will continue to move forward aggressively to deliver the nation’s first high-speed rail system.”

Times staff writer Dan Weikel contributed to this report.