Newsom may veto bill giving California high-speed rail watchdog more power, sources say
Critics called it the "anti-transparency" bill. Newsom quietly enacted the controversial part and may now veto the part the rail watchdog says he needs, sources tell CBS California.
Updated on: August 17, 2026 / 11:39 PM EDT / CBS News California
California is attempting to build the nation's first bullet train, a project that's ballooned in cost and has blown through deadline after deadline for more than a decade.
Now Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to veto a bill containing what the project's independent watchdog calls "absolutely essential" tools for holding the High-Speed Rail Authority accountable, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions between the administration and the Legislature.
CBS California Investigates recently exposed costly missed train-procurement deadlines and reported that the project could run out of money as soon as 2027 without new financing. To provide oversight, the state created an independent watchdog in 2023: an inspector general with the power to audit contracts, investigate fraud and flag problems before they turn into bigger, more expensive ones.
That watchdog is Ben Belnap. He was appointed by Newsom. He says the state has never actually given him the tools he needs to fully do the job.
A bill meant to empower the office, Assembly Bill 1608 , authored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, has been moving through the Legislature all year. It cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee last week and is two floor votes away from passing as written. Now, the governor's office is threatening to veto it, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the negotiations