XPost: alt.embezzlers, misc.transport.rail.americas, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.law-enforcement   
   From: noreply@mixmin.net   
      
   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/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)