Bosses at California’s High-Speed Rail are weighing giving the CEO even more power as the beleaguered system racks up eye-popping contracts.
The board of directors are mulling if granting Ian Choudri more authority over spending and operations will salvage the struggling project.
Choudri currently operates under powers delegated by the board, including the ability to approve new contracts worth up to $25 million without board approval and authorize change orders on existing contracts up to $100 million, the Fresno Bee reported.
The board has also granted a limited, one-time exception allowing Choudri to execute certain materials contracts above the $25 million cap, though that carveout excluded some items — fueling the latest dispute.
Now, board members are considering whether to rewrite those limits entirely.
One proposal, backed by board member Anthony Williams, would raise the CEO’s authority on new contracts from $25 million to $100 million — bringing it in line with his existing change-order power and giving him significantly broader unilateral control over spending decisions.
“I would be curious to understand why they shouldn’t be the same,” Williams said to Choudri. “It allows you to focus on what you should focus on, and for us to focus on what we should focus on.”
But others on the board are pushing in the opposite direction.
Board member Henry Perea has argued for tighter oversight, suggesting more contracts and change orders should be brought before the board for review rather than expanding executive authority.
“[The board should] be very judicious of the money that we give you and how you spend it,” he said during Wednesday’s meeting.
“When it comes to spending the money of the taxpayers, I think it absolutely merits oversight by this board to ensure that process was followed, the right person was picked,” Perea added.
This comes as Ian Choudri is also at odds with members of the press.
Choudri was expected to sit for interviews with journalists about ongoing issues with the project’s business plan for the long-delayed rail line connecting Los Angeles and Sacramento — an undertaking first approved by California voters nearly two decades ago with $9.95 billion in bonds and now projected to cost tens of billions more.
But tensions escalated after Choudri attempted to limit the scope of questions, including barring inquiries related to personal matters that surfaced earlier this year.
Several reporters declined to participate under those conditions.
The controversy stems in part from a February incident in which Choudri was arrested following a domestic dispute.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office later declined to file charges, citing insufficient evidence and no visible injuries, and the matter was characterized by his attorney as a private family issue.
Choudri was placed on leave while the incident was under investigation.
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