The bill would also prevent the release of internal discussions and \u201cpersonal papers and correspondence\u201d if the person involved submits a written request to keep their records private.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The legislation appears to have the blessing of Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration released a nearly identical\u00a0budget trailer bill<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a vehicle for the governor and legislative leaders to adopt major reforms swiftly with minimal public input \u2014 on Monday. The language for both proposals came from the inspector general\u2019s office, said H.D. Palmer, spokesperson of the state Department of Finance.<\/p>\n The Office of the Inspector General of High-Speed Rail Authority, which audits, monitors and makes policy recommendations to the authority,\u00a0was formed in 2022<\/a>\u00a0after Assembly Democrats held bullet train funding hostage in exchange for increased oversight.\u00a0<\/p>\n The rail line, designed to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, was approved by voters in 2008. At the time, it was estimated to cost $33 billion and be completed by 2020.\u00a0It is now estimated to cost more than $100 billion, with only a 171-mile segment connecting Merced and Bakersfield planned for completion by 2033.<\/p>\n The project delays and ever-increasing price tag have frustrated both Democrats and Republicans. Former Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Los Angeles Democrat who held up the funding in 2022, said at the time there was\u00a0\u201cno confidence<\/a>\u201d\u00a0in the project. U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, a Rocklin Republican, has fiercely criticized it as a waste of money and\u00a0introduced legislation to gut federal funding<\/a>\u00a0for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat and a former county auditor, said her bill would empower the inspector general\u2019s office and shield it from public records requests for sensitive data, such as whistleblowers\u2019 identities, details of fraud, documents regarding pending litigation and records about security risks. High-speed rail authority officials often will not turn over sensitive records to the oversight agency out of fear that the office would be compelled to release them, forcing the inspector general\u2019s office to jump through hoops to obtain information for audits, she argued.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way we\u2019ll get the level of transparency and the accountability that the Legislature requires is to make sure that our (inspector general\u2019s office), who are technically the eyes and ears of the public \u2026 have every protection they need to be able to take the full deep dive without hindrance,\u201d Wilson told CalMatters in an interview last week.<\/p>\n Palmer echoed Wilson\u2019s point, arguing that the governor\u2019s proposal aims to allow the inspector general\u2019s office to \u201ccommunicate sensitive findings to external bodies in position to take corrective action.\u201d<\/p>\n A \u2018modern day Stonehenge\u2019<\/p>\n But some good government groups see the measure as offering the inspector general\u2019s office blanket authority to withhold anything it doesn\u2019t want to disclose.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a wholesale atom bomb on disclosure,\u201d said Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association.<\/p>\n And the measure is drawing opposition from Republicans who already consider the project a failure. Assemblymember\u00a0Alexandra Macedo<\/a>, a Visalia Republican, said it is \u201cinsulting\u201d that the project began when she was in middle school and remains far from complete. She called the empty concrete high-speed rail structures throughout her district a \u201cmodern day Stonehenge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, every ounce of this project should be available for public consumption and should be presented factually and in entirety to the entire legislative body,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Officials from the High-Speed Rail Authority and the inspector general that oversees it declined CalMatters\u2019 request for comment. Newsom\u2019s office also did not respond to CalMatters\u2019 questions.<\/p>\n The bill is the latest in a series of legislative attempts to shield records and agencies from the public. Last year, lawmakers passed laws that loosened public meeting requirements for various groups, from\u00a0local governments<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0research review organizations<\/a>, and exempted\u00a0insurers<\/a>\u00a0from having to disclose information they report to the Legislature. State Treasurer Fiona Ma sponsored a measure to establish a new infrastructure agency within her office while exempting much of its operations from public disclosure, a bill that was ultimately watered down and killed last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n The California Public Records Act, which applies to all state and local agencies except the state Legislature and judicial offices, already exempts disclosure of various types of sensitive information Wilson\u2019s measure aims to protect, said Ginny LaRoe, advocacy director at the First Amendment Coalition, which champions press freedom and transparency.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, state law\u00a0broadly allows<\/a>\u00a0agencies to withhold records when they believe it serves the public interest. There are also specific protections for\u00a0preliminary drafts<\/a>\u00a0and internal discussions,\u00a0trade secrets<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0documents related to pending litigation<\/a>\u00a0involving a public agency, which are disclosable once a lawsuit is resolved.<\/p>\n But interpreting the public records law would take up a lot of the inspector general\u2019s capacity, said Wilson\u2019s chief of staff Taylor Woolfork.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bill\u2019s objective is for this small oversight body to concentrate on generating meaningful reports that strengthen the high speed rail program, not to divert limited resources toward interpreting complex CPRA questions or defending disclosure decisions in court,\u201d he said in an email.<\/p>\n While Woolfork acknowledged the existing exemptions for the agency in the public records law, he said it does not go far enough to protect the inspector general\u2019s office. Under current law, if the high-speed rail authority is being sued, the inspector general\u2019s office could be required to release information because the agency itself isn\u2019t being sued, he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Both proposals would allow people who communicate with the inspector general\u2019s office to stay confidential as long as they make a written request, a practice in laws that govern the state auditor\u2019s office and inspectors general at other agencies, such as the state departments of transportation and corrections and rehabilitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf any project should have intense transparency and scrutiny, it\u2019s the high-speed rail.\u201d<\/p>\n Chuck Champion, president of the California News Publishers Association<\/p>\n But the decision to withhold that information should be based on a set of \u201cobjective legitimate criteria \u2026 independent of someone\u2019s personal wishes,\u201d LaRoe said.<\/p>\n \u201cA whistleblower \u2026 understandably may have fear of coming forward with important information about waste, fraud or abuse, but that doesn\u2019t mean that they should unilaterally be able to control what the public has access to.\u201d<\/p>\n LaRoe also took issue with allowing the inspector general to shield information due to potential \u201cweaknesses\u201d such as \u201cinformation security, physical security, fraud detection controls, or pending litigation\u201d \u2014 language that CalMatters could not find anywhere else in state public records access laws.<\/p>\n \u201cOn its face, I could see an agency refusing to disclose information because it\u2019s embarrassing, because it shows a weakness,\u201d LaRoe said. \u201cToo often, we see agencies interpreting words in ways that ultimately protect people or decisions that maybe look embarrassing or are uncomfortable or create controversy.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about the language, Wilson said she expects the proposal will be\u00a0 \u201choned in\u201d on through the legislative process. \u201cThis was, we felt, a good starting point,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But it is troubling whenever lawmakers seek to further shield public agencies from disclosure requirements \u2014 especially a watchdog agency overseeing such a controversial project, LaRoe and Champion said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf any project should have intense transparency and scrutiny, it\u2019s the high-speed rail,\u201d Champion said. \u201cThis project has been a disaster from jump street. And what else is in there that we have not yet found that they could tuck into this loophole?\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/211130_CalmattersLogo.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Construction](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770601149_510_030623-High-Speed-Rail-LV_CM_17.jpg\")
Construction on the high-speed rail project above Highway 99 in south Fresno on March 6, 2023. (Larry Valenzuela\/CalMatters\/CatchLight Local)<\/p>\n