Gavin Newsom vetoes bill giving California high-speed rail watchdog more power
California Gov.Gavin Newsom on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have given the watchdog of California’s expensive, delayed high-speed rail project the powers it says it needs to quickly staff up and provide expert oversight.The Democratic governor vetoed Assembly Bill 1608, which would exempt the Inspector General of high-speed rail from a lengthy job reclassification process for qualified auditors and give it a $1 million purchase authority to avoid drawn-out contracting rules.Those tools are “absolutely essential” for its auditing, the inspector general previously said.
“My office has been slowed in its effort to complete these reviews,” Inspector Benjamin Belnap told lawmakers back in June.Belnap said his office is half-staffed, despite year-round recruiting efforts because experienced auditors don’t qualify under the current low-level job classifications he’s authorized to hire for.
Belnap says he’s had to turn away “fabulous” candidates, CBS reported.The inspector general told lawmakers that acquiring standard software for his relatively new office was a pain, leading to delays and cost increases.“My office can develop its own classifications… and can seek a purchasing delegation… but both of these tasks take years and would require more administrative resources than my office presently has,” he said, arguing the bill would help cut through the red tape.
Newsom, in his veto statement, disagreed.He said his administration was already planning to increase the inspector general’s “information technology project delegation authority” among other actions intended to support the office.
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