The California High-Speed Rail Authority board voted to accept the 2025 program baseline and the fiscal year 2025-26 capital budget at its public meeting on Thursday, approving a $2.6 billion capital outlay plan for 2025-26 and a $117 million administrative and capital support budget.

Chief Financial Officer Jamie Mataka told the board the authority's updated, optimized total capital cost estimate for the Merced-Fresno-Bakersfield program is $36.75 billion, down from earlier, higher estimates after a program-wide reassessment of design, sequencing and estimating methods.

Why it matters: The baseline and budget acceptance authorizes continued work on the authority's current program of construction and advances long-lead activities while the authority manages contested federal grant funding and pursues state revenue solutions.

Mataka summarized the authority's funding and cost picture: at the January 2024 expenditure authorization the authority had identified $28.7 billion in funding and set expenditure authorization at $26 billion, leaving $2.6 billion in uncommitted program funding. The authority's earlier federal grant strategy had targeted $8 billion but secured about $3.3 billion; staff said the authority currently assumes — but cannot draw on immediately because of litigation — approximately $4 billion in federal grant funding that is subject to contest.

Mataka said the authority is using a tapered-match approach that allows certain work to continue while federal reimbursements are pending in litigation. Mataka also described program changes led by the CEO's office that reduced cost by aligning operational speed with design speed, tightening design clearances and sequencing construction to lower estimates.

Board members pressed for clarification on the increase in the program baseline from the prior $26 billion expenditure authorization to the newly presented $36.75 billion figure. Mataka attributed the increase largely to the inclusion of Merced extension civil and track work, three station construction components, and the downtown Bakersfield segment.

The board approved the program baseline, the FY 2025-26 capital outlay budget of $2.6 billion and the FY 2025-26 administrative and capital support budget of $117 million. The roll call recorded affirmative votes by Director Schenck, Chair Richards, Director Camacho, Vice Chair Miller, Director Perea and Director Cohen; the motion carried.

Mataka also reported cash balances and contractual commitments: approximately $4.0 billion in cash balances and $3.1 billion in contractual commitments as of the June 30 reporting period; staff said monthly expenditures for June were about $166 million. Construction progress reports presented at the meeting showed the 119-mile construction package with 59 percent (70 miles) of guideway completed and 54 of 92 structures finished.

No additional board direction altering scope or canceling segments was taken at the meeting; the board's acceptance preserves authority staff's plan to continue critical-path activities and report monthly status updates.