A report from the Office of Inspector General says the authority must borrow against state infusions to stay afloat.
The California High-Speed Rail Authority may run out of money by December, 2027, Smart Cities Dive reports.
Though the state committed $1 billion annually to the project for the next 20 years from its cap-and-trade program, a July 31 report from the Office of the Inspector General for the High-Speed Rail Authority claims that it will not be enough unless it can borrow against the funds.
"Leveraging the cap-and-invest funds would be similar to how New York’s congestion pricing program enables its transit authority to borrow against future revenues through municipal bonds, an approach the authority is considering, Smart Cities Dive reports. "For that to work, the California attorney general must approve the authority’s eligibility to use revenue bonds, and the state must enact a law ensuring that cap‑and‑invest revenues cannot be reduced by future laws."
The news continues the narrative of the project's long history of cost overruns and delays. Read more below.
Read the full story: California high-speed rail project could run out of money by end of 2027, inspector general says
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