SACRAMENTO, California — California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is running into opposition from his own agency as he tries to entice insurers back to the state’s disaster-prone market.
Lara, an elected Democrat and former state lawmaker from Los Angeles, is sparring with a judge at his agency who has sought more authority over approval of rate increases.
Tensions came to a head at a Friday hearing, which Chief Administrative Law Judge Kristin Rosi held despite Lara’s Dec. 9 order not to and where she listened to Consumer Watchdog’s objections to Lara’s attempts to intervene in the proceedings.
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“It’s a classic showdown between a regulator and a judge,” Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said after the hearing.
