California sells $600M in bonds for high-speed rail project

California sold $600 million in bonds to help pay for its high-speed rail project even as lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledge challenges to completing the line between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The bond money is a key source of funding for the troubled project, which has been beset by cost overruns and delays. Voters approved $10 billion in bonds in 2008 and the state routinely sells them. The entire project is estimated to cost $77 billion.

Democratic Sen. Jim Beall of San Jose said in a statement "today's funding announcement is a continued sign of progress to keep our transformative high-speed rail initiative moving forward in California."

State Treasurer Fiona Ma says Wells Fargo and Jefferies, LLC purchased the bonds.

The bond sale came ahead of a Senate hearing about how the state should move forward. It was the first public hearing since Newsom signaled changes to the project. But his administration provided few new details, saying those would come in an update to the Legislature on May 1.