A top California lawmaker is pushing for an independent review of proposed changes to state law ahead of a renewed effort to bolster the state’s controversial high-speed rail project.
What happened: State Senate Transportation Chair Dave Cortese (D), in a Wednesday letter, formally requested California High-Speed Rail’s inspector general to analyze potential impacts of seven policy proposals that officials say they need to complete a rail line connecting the Bay Area to Los Angeles — a project that is severely delayed and over budget.
“These seven conditions represent a potential opportunity to set a foundation for cost-certainty, schedule-certainty, and bolster the ability to deliver the project in a way that meets California’s mobility, economic, and climate goals,” Cortese wrote.
Cortese’s request asks Inspector General Benjamin Belnap to complete the review “preferably” before Feb. 1.
