Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations,
It's no wonder that California's infamous high-speed rail line has more than tripled in cost and been delayed by 20 years. The consultants working on the project have been killing time at a tiki bar, a nightclub, an escape room, a gym and more.
Their travel expenses add up to more than $2 million, including $592,000 that was "not allowable," per a Sept. 15 inspector general report.
Key facts:
The consultants are allowed to bill taxpayers for legitimate business expenses, but the state "routinely" allowed them to travel without advance approval, as required. State officials admitted they sometimes had no idea the consultants had taken trips until the invoices arrived.
Many travel expenses had no written justification, or had vague explanations like "typical travel" or "meetings."
Consultants booked first-class flights and premium services like Uber Black, which picks up riders in a luxury car. One consultant booked a premium Uber to travel 25 miles to a steakhouse, and another used the service for "repeated" trips to Planet Fitness gym locations around Sacramento. Another took a ride to a nightclub
