SB 1260: High-speed rail: independent review: High-Speed Rail Authority Inspector General.

The Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century, approved by the voters as Proposition 1A at the November 4, 2008, general election, provides for the issuance of $9.95 billion in general obligation bonds for high-speed rail and related purposes. The California High-Speed Rail Act creates the High-Speed Rail Authority to develop and implement a high-speed train system in the state, with specified powers and duties. Existing law requires the authority, no later than 90 days before the submittal to the Legislature and the Governor of the initial request for appropriation of proceeds of specified bonds authorized for any eligible capital costs on each corridor, or usable segment of a corridor, to approve and submit to the Director of Finance, a specified independent peer review group, and the transportation policy committees and fiscal committees of the Legislature, a detailed funding plan for that corridor or a usable segment of that corridor, as provided. defines Phase 1 of the high-speed train system as the corridor of the high-speed train system between San Francisco Transbay Terminal and Los Angeles Union Station and Anaheim, and requires the authority to include information on Phase 1 as part of a biennial business plan, as provided.

This bill would require the High-Speed Rail Authority, or its successor, to approve and submit an independent third-party analysis, as contracted by the California State Auditor, of the high-speed train system to the Director of Finance, the independent peer review group, and the policy committees with jurisdiction over transportation matters and the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature. The bill would require the third-party analysis to include a determination of the economic and financial justification for the high-speed train system. inspector general to conduct an independent review of the economic and financial justification for the high-speed rail project, including a review and assessment of a specified benefit-cost analysis submitted by the High-Speed Rail Authority to the United States Department of Transportation. The bill would also require the inspector general to conduct an independent review of the ability of the high-speed rail project to operate without subsidy before the Legislature recommits to the full Phase 1 system. The bill would require the inspector general to consult with industry experts for these reviews, as provided.