I'm not sure how a bigger budget fixes mistakes on invoices, but, whatever Rail Authority. 6 months since this particular HSR plan was exposed as a complete out of control sham, and all they come back with is "We need more money"
I smell the end of this boondoggle coming soon...thank god.

This whole thing seems like it's being run by the laziest people we can find.

"The budget situation has kept the authority from hiring a deputy director for risk management, who would assume risk management for the entire project. The authority also wanted to hire two new auditors, but had not been able to do that 'due to a lack of a State budget and the current freeze on hiring.'"

In my business, when I run out of money to hire people to help me, I personally do the work that needs to be done for me to survive. These clowns just throw their hands up and blame someone else for not giving them their 'birthright'. If you can't afford a deputy director, guess what? Whoever would be the boss of the deputy has this on his plate until they can afford to hire someone else, and that's not an excuse for a lack of progress. Risk management is an important facet of the project, and if the Rail Authority can't handle it, or even be bothered to make an effort, they should be shut down. You don't need auditors so much as you need competent accounts receivable and accounts payable reps. But, that would mean making some effort that may not be directly codified in their ridiculous state employment contracts, and that's just not going to happen. These should not be difficult problems to address, but the Rail Authority struggles with even the most simple issue.

How the voters could have possibly thought that the government could efficiently and effectively build an high speed rail system (arguments on whether it even makes sense aside) is utterly incomprehensible to me.

These same idiots have managed to run the state into the ground. For example, by 2012 pension liabilities will be 5.5 times the state's tax revenue (Web Link