The Sacramento Choo-Choo
HSR25-89 Track and System Construction Contract
Executive Summary
- The California High-Speed Rail Authority received two bidders (Proposers) for the $3.5 billion HSR25-89 contract.
- One of the bidders was quickly disqualified because one of the proposed managers lacked a California Professional Engineer license.
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The management role in question was a non-engineering position and hence, according to state law, did not require such a
license. The Authority's requirement was capricious at best and legally dubious at worst.
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Because of its early disqualification, the Authority performed no scoring or analysis of the second proposal. As a result, no
comparisons of cost, qualifications or experience offered by the two bidders were ever made.
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The bidding process therefore devolved into a non-competitive, sole-source procurement. This arrangement is legally questionable
because - just like non-bid contracts - it is usually allowed only under exceptional circumstances.
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At the very least, the Authority demostrated extremely poor stewardship of public monies, and its conduct should be investigated by
appropriate government agencies.