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A new state bill aims to shield certain information about California's High-Speed Rail project from the public.

Supporters say it's about protecting sensitive records, but critics
think it puts the brakes on transparency.

The project is set to one day connect Los Angeles and San Francisco and, eventually, San Diego and Sacramento.

Backers of the project, including Governor Gavin Newsom, say it will
transform the future of transportation. "Want to do well in the future,
you gotta invest in the future," he said in Jan. 2026.

On the other hand, opponents . including President Donald Trump . say
the project is too costly. They note the state has already spent about
$15 billion on it over the last decade and a half, while the total cost projections for the full project have ballooned from the original $45
billion estimate presented to voters in 2008 to anywhere between $88 billion-$128 billion today.

The first phase, running from Kern County to Merced, is scheduled for completion in 2033. But there's still no timeline for finishing the full statewide route.

"Billions of dollars for this stupid project that should have never been built," Pres. Trump said of the project.

Inside California Politics Correspondent Eytan Wallace reports a new
state bill would limit public access to certain information about the
project. AB 1608 would bar the inspector general from releasing what the
bill describes as "project weaknesses," including security risks, fraud controls and pending lawsuits.

When asked how she would respond to people who see this bill as the
government trying to hide information, the bill's author, Democratic
Senator Laurie Wilson (D-Suisun City) responded, "We're not trying to
hide anything. We want maximum transparency and maximum accountability
to this project."

Wilson stressed the bill is intended solely to keep sensitive
information and records out of the hands of bad-faith actors, adding
that other state agencies already adhere to similar restrictions.

"Security fraud detection controls, petty litigation are not things that
add to the public value because they can be exploited. We don't want
people to exploit the system," she said.

Wilson said, moving forward, she'll make changes to the bill to clarify
its intent.

However, State Sen. Tony Strickland (R- Huntington Beach) says that as
long as High-Speed Rail continues to use taxpayer dollars, any
information on the project should not be withheld from the public. "It's
our money, California doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a wasteful spending problem. And it has an accountability and transparency problem.
And this bill lacks transparency and accountability and, in fact, it
takes it the other direction."

The bill still has a ways to go in the legislative process. It's
expected to come up for its first committee hearing in the coming weeks.

California High-Speed Rail is a publicly funded high-speed rail system
that's currently under construction across the state by the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

It aims to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours and 40
minutes. With a top speed of 220 mph, CAHSR trains would be the fastest
in the U.S. and among the fastest in the world. Construction began in
the Central Valley in 2015.

https://ktla.com/news/california/bill-aims-to-shield-certain-information- about-california-high-speed-rail-project/

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