Troubled Rail Requesting Billions More Despite Missing Key Deadline for Business Plan
By: Assemblyman Vince Fong
Tags: Budget, Sacramento, High Speed Rail, Policy

Prime areas in Fresno have been torn up for the building of the rail.

The ambitious bullet train that was sold to voters in 2008 as a needed mega transportation project has become a gigantic mess. In fact, it no longer resembles what was presented at all, and has been plagued with continuous cost overruns and wasted tax dollars. Twelve years later, the High-Speed Rail Authority has little to show for the billions spent other than a textbook example of Sacramento Democrats’ managerial and fiscal failures.

The High-Speed Rail is currently projected to cost taxpayers $80-$100 billion, which is three times higher than the Authority’s initial $33 billion cost estimate. This $50 billion discrepancy is a direct result of the Authority’s mismanagement and the Newsom Administration’s competence crisis.

Brian Kelly, the CEO of California’s High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA), recently announced that the Authority has reached a deal with Democrat legislative leadership to postpone the release of the project’s business plan for a second time. Not only was the December 15th deadline for the business plan required by law, but it revealed the Authority’s lack of direction, accountability, and ability to meet basic deadlines. Even worse, this has become an unacceptable habit of the CAHSRA.

Despite the Authority’s lack of transparency, recent reports on the project’s construction have shined light on a series of disturbing safety concerns including incorrect alignment and steel corrosion as a result of design errors and neglect of the structure itself.

Now, despite failing to meet an already-delayed deadline for the project’s business plan review, the Authority will be requesting another $4 billion in the upcoming 2021–2022 budget. The High-Speed Rail is a pillage of taxpayers who have been consistently over-promised and under-served by this floundering project.

The Legislature cannot continue funding this boondoggle in good faith while millions of Californians are unemployed and homeless, our children are falling behind in school, and small businesses are closing their doors for good. A thorough review of an accurate business plan is critical to hold this agency accountable. The public rightfully demands full transparency with what is being done with their money.

As our state faces a $54 billion budget deficit and a pandemic, we must address the troubling fashion in which Sacramento carelessly mismanages taxpayer dollars. Each year, Sacramento Democrats have the opportunity to put money where their mouth is and make critical investments in wildfire prevention, water infrastructure, public safety, K-12 education, and small business and disaster relief. Now more than ever, we need a new direction that prioritizes the everyday needs of our families, which is why I have proposed legislation to redirect existing funds from this failing project to address our immediate needs.

The bullet train needs to be stopped in its tracks. The Authority has continually neglected the will of the voters, any notion of fiscal responsibility, and the letter of the law in their obligation to advance this project. As the newly-appointed Vice Chair of the Budget Committee, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject any further spending on the disastrous High-Speed Rail, and redirect the spending to where Californians need it most.