California's “Unfinished Projects” List Goes Viral in Chinese Communities: High-Speed Rail, 911, Homeless Funds Checked Against Official Records
A campaign image listing six figures has been circulating widely in Chinese communities: California high-speed rail "$128 billion spent," homelessness aid "$24 billion unaccounted for," EDD fraud "$32 billion," the 911 system "$650 million spent before cancellation," health coverage for undocumented immigrants "$10 billion," and reservoir storage "$5 billion vanished." The image comes from the campaign of Herb Morgan, the Republican candidate for State Controller — California's chief fiscal officer — who faces incumbent Malia Cohen in the November 3 general election. This article checks each figure against official records, including State Auditor reports.
1. High-speed rail: $128 billion is an estimate, not money spent. Proposition 1A, passed in November 2008, authorized $9.95 billion in bonds against an estimate of roughly $33 billion and a 2020 opening target. Construction began in the Central Valley in 2015. The Authority's February 2026 draft business plan puts Phase 1 (San Francisco to Los Angeles) at about $126.2 billion — close to the image's figure, but that is a completion estimate, not spending to date. Actual spending is roughly $15-18 billion. As of February 2026, about 80 miles of guideway and 58 structures are complete and 119 miles are under construction out of 494 Phase 1 miles, with no passenger segment open. The Merced-Bakersfield segment (about 171 miles, about $34.76 billion) targets 2033; Phase 1 targets 2040. The funding gap is about $90 billion. The Trump administration revoked about $4 billion in federal funds; California sued, then dropped the suit. The $231 billion figure circulating online is a legacy unoptimized scenario, not the Authority's current plan.
2. Homelessness $24 billion: the audit found outcomes untracked, not money missing. The State Auditor's April 2024 report (2023-102.1) counted about $24 billion across 30-plus programs over fiscal years 2018-19 through 2022-23. The finding was missing outcome tracking: three of five major programs could not be assessed and two were likely cost-effective. California's homeless population rose from 151,278 in 2019 to 187,084 in January 2024. Under AB 799, the first checkable outcome data is due in a report by February 1, 2027, public by June 1, 2027.
3. EDD $32 billion: the official figure is about $20 billion; $32 billion is a high-end outside estimate. EDD has said about $20 billion was likely fraud during the pandemic; its later $55 billion ineligibility estimate was found unsubstantiated by the Auditor. About $6 billion has been recovered; improper payments in 2023-2024 were about $1.5 billion, including over $500 million in fraud in 2024. California still owes the federal government more than $20 billion in unemployment loans — the only state yet to repay.
4. The 911 system: the only item confirmed as spent-then-scrapped. Cal OES launched a regional Next Gen 911 system in 2019 with four contractors and an initial $132 million over three years. It was scrapped in 2025 after a reported $450-500 million spent — below the image's $650 million. A replacement statewide system targets completion around 2030.
5. Health coverage $10 billion: roughly one year of program cost, not fraud. Medi-Cal expansion to ages 26-49 regardless of status was completed in January 2024, initially estimated at about $3.1 billion a year. Actual general-fund spending in FY2024-25 was about $8.4 billion, with another estimate of $9.5 billion a year, an overrun of roughly $3.1-5.0 billion; the state borrowed $3.4 billion. The June 2025 budget froze new enrollment of undocumented adults from January 1, 2026, with $30 monthly premiums from 2027. The $10 billion figure is approximately the program's annual cost, not a fraud loss.
6. The reservoir "$5 billion vanished": no matching public source exists. Proposition 1 (2014) was a $7.545 billion water bond including $2.7 billion for storage. Sites Reservoir, proposed since the 1950s, remains unbuilt at 1.5 million acre-feet; its cost rose from $3.9 billion (2021) to $6.2-6.8 billion (2025), with about $1.363 billion committed by the state. Its final water-right permit goes to the State Water Board on November 4, 2026, with construction planned for 2027 and first water in 2034.
7. Two more items beyond the image. The Delta tunnel (about 45 miles, two intakes, 6,000 cfs) is estimated by DWR at about $20.1 billion versus opponents' $60-100+ billion; its financing was rejected by a trial court and the Third District Court of Appeal, the state Supreme Court declined review in April 2026, and no agency has committed to build it, with another appeal decision expected December 9. The Capitol annex grew from $543 million to $1.1 billion, prompting lawmakers to request a Controller's audit.
Three different states of affairs. Classified by the official record, the six figures are not the same kind of problem: spent-then-scrapped applies only to the regional 911 system; delayed-and-unbuilt covers high-speed rail, Sites Reservoir and the Delta tunnel; over-budget-then-tightened covers the Medi-Cal expansion and homelessness funds. Dates to watch: November 4 (Sites permit), December 9 (Delta appeal), 2027 (first public homelessness outcome data), 2033 (first high-speed rail segment target).
Related: More Homeless People Near My Home — After 26 Years in America, One Corner of the Country I See
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 2017年2月施工中的加州高铁弗雷斯诺河高架桥。图片：加州高铁管理局，公共领域，取自维基共享资源。
