And if California can’t decide fast enough, any other state interested in claiming those funds might be out of luck — since the money will no longer be available after Sept. 30, according to a DOT official on Friday.

As part of the economic stimulus, the DOT allocated $3.3 billion to California’s planned high-speed rail line, which has become bogged down in a high-stakes fight over its price tag and location. California risks losing those federal funds if the state Legislature doesn’t approve $2.7 billion in bonds by mid-June.

A DOT official said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who was in Sacramento on Thursday, needs California to give him a decision by then so that if the answer is no, the department will have enough time to reallocate the money. The process would be similar to what happened when the governor of Florida rejected billions of dollars in federal high-speed rail money.

The timing is crucial because the money will be forfeited altogether if it isn’t doled out by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

At a news conference in California, LaHood emphasized that the federal government is committed to realizing high-speed rail in California, but it needs to see the state approve the money quickly. Some state lawmakers, unsure how to proceed, are pushing to delay their vote until the fall.

The DOT official said LaHood “wanted to make sure that they understood the urgency of California including the state match in their budget, which comes out in June.”

The official said the agency is “confident that the project’s going to move forward.” But, he added, if California can’t make a decision, “we would need time to … decide how to use that money for one of the other rail projects that are clamoring for funding.”