California’s high-speed rail project will ask state lawmakers for more funding in January after securing $1 billion in annual funding this session, its CEO said Thursday.
What happened: High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri said during an interview that the $1 billion in guaranteed annual funding included in lawmakers’ extension of the state’s emissions trading program was a “down payment” and that it won’t be enough to finance construction from the Bay Area to Los Angeles.
“We are going to go back in January and look at funding mechanisms,” Choudri said. “It could be bonds, could be some other ways.”
Why it matters: Choudri’s push for increased state funding comes after the Trump administration revoked over $4 billion in Obama- and Biden-era federal grants for the project. The HSRA sued to overturn that funding rollback, but Choudri said the polarization of national politics means the project can’t rely on federal funding going forward.
