Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed Dan Richard, a former BART board member, to the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Richard, a Piedmont resident, sat on the BART board for 12 years, serving the regional transportation agency from 1992 to 2004. A Democrat, Richard will replace Curt Pringle, the former chair of the authority who resigned last month. Brown posted his appointment of Richard to the nine-person body on Friday.

The authority, tasked with overseeing the $43 billion high-speed rail project to connect Los Angeles with San Francisco, is facing increased opposition as doubts about its funding and planning proposals continue to mount.

On Thursday, the authority board will meet to discuss new updates on how it plans to pay for the project.

wreisman@sfexaminer.com