California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have given the watchdog overseeing the state’s costly, delayed high-speed rail project greater authority to hire staff and obtain expert support.
Assembly Bill 1608 would have allowed the high-speed rail inspector general to bypass a lengthy job-reclassification process when hiring qualified auditors. It also would have granted the office $1 million in purchasing authority, helping it avoid protracted state contracting procedures.
The inspector general had previously described both measures as “absolutely essential” to carrying out its audits.
“My office has been slowed in its effort to complete these reviews,” Inspector General Benjamin Belnap told lawmakers in June.
Belnap said the office remains half-staffed despite recruiting throughout the year because experienced auditors do not qualify for the lower-level classifications under which he is authorized to hire.
Belnap told CBS that he had been forced to turn away “fabulous” candidates.
He also told lawmakers that obtaining standard software for the relatively new office had become difficult, causing delays and driving up costs.
“My office can develop its own classifications… and can seek a purchasing delegation… but both of these tasks take years and would require more administrative resources than my office presently has,” Belnap said, arguing that the bill would cut through the bureaucracy.
Newsom disagreed in his veto statement, saying his administration was already preparing to expand the inspector general’s “information technology project delegation authority,” along with taking other steps to support the office.
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“The Office should continue working with the appropriate state agencies to address its operational needs through existing processes rather than receive broad, permanent exemptions from generally applicable statewide administrative safeguards,” the governor wrote.
Newsom also noted that California had approved other elements of the legislation through the budget process, including authority for the inspector general to keep its reports from public disclosure when deemed necessary. Republicans have criticized those provisions as “anti-transparency.”
Assemblymember Lori Wilson, the bill’s author, said in a statement to The Post that the legislation had nevertheless achieved some progress.
“We got a significant portion of the bill into the budget. We were able to get a procurement increase, so the Office of the Inspector General has more purchasing power,” Wilson said. “I also recognize the classification piece is what was vetoed and I look forward to working with the next Governor to make sure the Office has what it needs.”
The Inspector General’s Office told The Post it was “disappointed” by the veto.
“Despite this setback, the OIG-HSR is committed to overcoming the administrative hurdles AB 1608 would have otherwise resolved and are encouraged by the Governor’s message offering continued support to overcome these challenges,” the office said.
The watchdog’s role has taken on added importance as California’s high-speed rail project faces escalating costs and repeated delays.
A scathing inspector general audit published this month found that the Rail Authority paid more than $680,000 in questionable travel expenses for project-connected consultants. The spending included premium airfare and rideshare trips to gyms, nightclubs and an “escape room.”
The ambitious high-speed rail megaproject is also confronting a serious cash shortage. The watchdog warned that it could run out of funding by the end of 2027 without additional financing.
One projection puts the project’s estimated cost at a staggering $231 billion, with completion pushed to approximately 2039. The rail authority, however, estimates the cost at $126.3 billion following a reassessment this year.
The bullet train remains far from finished, more than a decade after construction began in 2015. Only this year did the troubled project enter what officials called the “track-laying phase.”
