California spends $5.2 MILLION on granite, Italian fabrication, shipping for new Capitol building

California taxpayers are footing a $5.2 million bill to mine granite in their own state, send it thousands of miles to Italy for finishing, and then ship it all the way back to Sacramento as part of a ballooning $1.2 billion Capitol construction project.

Construction crews have now begun installing the controversial stone on the new Capitol Annex, which will house offices for California lawmakers and the governor. The granite was mined in Raymond, California, shipped overseas to Italy to be fabricated, and then transported back to California for installation, according to KCRA.

The spending comes as California faces a significant structural budget problem. According to the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst's Office, the state's enacted 2026-27 budget carries an $18.5 billion operating deficit, meaning revenues collected during the year fall well short of the state's spending. The budget is technically balanced by drawing down money accumulated in previous years and through other budget actions.

California's reserves are also being depleted. The LAO projects combined General Fund reserves will fall from $40.7 billion in 2025-26 to approximately $19.6 billion at the end of 2026-27. And the fiscal problems are expected to continue. The Newsom administration projects operating deficits of $10.4 billion in 2027-28, $8.7 billion in 2028-29, and $8.3 billion in 2029-30.

Earlier this year, the LAO warned that California faces a structural budget imbalance despite booming tax revenues, writing that "the underlying budget condition is not sound."

The Capitol Annex's project was estimated to cost $543 million in 2018. By 2022, the price had climbed above $1 billion. In May, lawmakers overseeing the project put the latest estimate at $1.2 billion, more than twice the original figure.

As of July, $668 million had already been spent, with completion expected in October 2027.

The spending also contrasts with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta's criticism of President Donald Trump's White House ballroom. During an October 2025 press conference, Bonta accused Trump of being "more focused on tearing down a historic building to build himself a gold-laden ballroom for lavish parties and ensuring American families can put dinner on the table."

Newsom's press office also mocked Trump as "Marie Antoinette" over the ballroom. But when KCRA confronted Newsom at the same press conference about California's own costly Capitol project, the governor rejected the comparison. "For you to conflate or compare or contrast, with all due respect, that I would separate from the ballroom and the desecration and the process that evolved, and the fact that he secured $300 million under curious circumstances from the annex and what the Legislature is trying to do," Newsom said.

Newsom did acknowledge concerns about the secrecy surrounding California's project. "I don't think it's appropriate; they should provide you the information," Newsom said. "I'm not trying to defend those actions," he added.

Newsom later told KCRA, "As a taxpayer, I'd like to know as well," after documents indicated that his office had a larger role in the project than he had initially suggested.

The $5.2 million stonework is one of the project's more unusual expenses. The California Legislature's Joint Rules Committee approved the expenditure to mine approximately 2 million pounds of granite from California's Central Valley, ship the stone by boat to Italy for fabrication, and then return it to Sacramento. Project officials say the stone is intended to visually connect the new glass building with California's historic Capitol.

When questions emerged about the expense, the Joint Rules Committee would not provide records demonstrating that sending the California granite to Italy was the least expensive option. Sources told KCRA that overseas fabrication may have been cheaper because Italy does not have the same labor and environmental standards imposed on fabricators in California and elsewhere in the United States.

Greg Burt of the California Family Council, whose office overlooks the construction site, spotted the stone arriving last week. "I heard stories about this granite that went all the way to Italy, and I go, could that be it?" Burt told KCRA.

California taxpayers are also spending $64 million on security measures, including "secure hallways" that will allow lawmakers and staff to move through the building without encountering members of the public.

Thousands of people involved with the construction have been required to sign nondisclosure agreements. During the period in which those agreements were in place, the project's estimated cost rose from $543 million in 2018 to more than $1 billion by 2022. The last public hearing on the project was held in 2021.

Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco and State Sen. John Laird, who oversee the project, have also declined to release financial records substantiating the total price tag, saying they will provide the records when construction is completed. "Where is all that money going? There's no regard for taxpayer money? That's disturbing. Taxpayers, they work every day, and they expect politicians to spend their money wisely," Burt said.

California is therefore moving forward with a $1.2 billion taxpayer-funded government building at the same time the state is running an $18.5 billion annual operating deficit and drawing down its reserves.