The Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill aimed at the California Department of Insurance that its author says will “restore ethics and transparency to a state agency he said has been plagued by scandal.”
The committee passed Assembly Bill 2370, authored by Assemblymember Marc Levine (D – Marin County).
The bill would prohibit ex parte communications between the insurance commissioner, department staff and an interested party unless the commissioner and department staff disclose those communications on the department’s website.
The bill is in response to an incident in late 2021, in which the CDI attempted to institute an email retention policy under which all emails would automatically delete after 180 days unless manually archived
AB 2370 conforms current local government record retention requirements of at least two years, to all state agencies.
“It is absolutely bonkers that Commissioner Ricardo Lara attempted to auto-delete all Department of Insurance emails while simultaneously fighting in court to subvert the California Public Records Act,” said Assemblymember Marc Levine. “Californians need to regain trust in the Department of Insurance and have faith that the public officials entrusted to protect consumers are fighting for them, not for insurance companies. AB 2370 is an important tool necessary to restore ethics and transparency in the Department of Insurance and continue the Department’s mission to fight for consumers across the state.”
In 2020, the CDI and the commissioner reportedly engaged in a series of ex parte communications with two former legislators regarding an insurance company seeking to relocate out of state.
Communications between the commissioner and the former legislators were withheld from public review, resulting in a lawsuit by a consumer protection organization, demanding disclosure of the information.
AB 2370 now heads to the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee.
Related:
- California Lawmaker Introduces Bill to ‘Restore Ethics and Transparency’ at Department of Insurance
- Group Sues California Commissioner over Public Records of Dealings with Insurance Executives
- Court Orders California Insurance Company Conserved in Another Round in Applied Battle
Topics California Legislation
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