California Climate Boondoggle: State Program Facing Slew Of Fraud, Mismanagement Accusations
California’s flagship public electric transportation program has spent over $1 billion and faces allegations of fraud and inadequate government oversight, the Los Angeles Times reported on Oct. 18.
Pete Peterson · Oct 31, 2026 · 6 min read
California’s flagship public electric transportation program has spent over $1 billion and faces allegations of fraud and inadequate government oversight, the Los Angeles Times reported on Oct. 18.
The California Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) has spent $1 billion subsidizing allegedly over 16,000 electric vehicles for the Golden State. However, the project has been accused of misallocating millions of dollars, according to an exposé by the LA Times.
The project’s government managers claim the exposé is misleading and incomplete.
The accusations range from HVIP greatly exaggerating the miles driven by its electric fleet to accusations that HVIP was defrauded by partnering manufacturers into subsidizing vehicles that do not exist.
“What a surprise: A California “green” energy program rife with accusations of fraud, waste, and corruption. Gavin Newsom must be so proud,” public policy consultant David Blackmon told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
HVIP is overseen by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a government agency managed by political appointees of Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, which defended the program’s work.
“The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is disappointed by recent misleading reporting from the Los Angeles Times on the Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). Despite months of engagement with the reporters, the resulting work presents an incomplete picture of a program that has successfully improved air quality and accelerated the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies in California for more than 17 years,” CARB said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The LA Times did not respond to the DCNF’s questions about their report.
‘340 Million Miles’
CARB found at least ten vans that Green Commuter had leased with nearly $1 million in state funding sitting unassembled at a factory in 2022, the LA Times reported.