By Max Pringle, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS
January 13, 2021
https://www.sfpublicpress.org/elected-watchdogs-in-scandal-plagued-citi…
This article is part of a project examining ways to use the ballot to hold local government accountable. It was supported by the Solutions Journalism Network’s Renewing Democracy program.
Sacramento, CA – Members of the California State Senate have taken $2,353,000 in campaign contributions from insurance companies and insurance industry trade associations in the last two election cycles, according to data reported to the California Secretary of State. Of that total, $1.1 million was given to the thirteen Senators who sit on the Insurance Committee that will soon vote on the insurance industry’s top priority in Sacramento this year.
Sacramento, CA -- The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) has launched a deceptive website, at www.protectourdiscounts.org, and advertising campaign to protect insurers’ ability to continue overcharging lower income and minority drivers for their auto insurance.
Los Angeles, CA -- A non-profit consumer group filed a lawsuit to compel California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Department of Insurance to hand over records of Lara’s meetings and communications with insurance companies that used campaign contributions in an apparent attempt to influence policy decisions.
Download the lawsuit here: https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/Petition%2…
Whether the US Senate acknowledges it or not, we must never forget the raw deal behind Trump's corruption.
Mick Malvaney may be out as White House Chief of Staff, but he will always be the 9 of Clubs on in the Trump's Raw Deal Playing Card deck.
That's why acclaimed LA artist Charles Lynn “Chick” Bragg has teamed up with Consumer Watchdog Campaign (CW's campaign affilate) to offer a 54 face card, special-edition playing card deck featuring searing, satirical portraits of Trump's accomplices.
By Patrick McGreevy, LOS ANGELES TIMES
January 4, 2020
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-04/state-compensation-…
SACRAMENTO — A California public agency that offers workers’ compensation insurance coverage to employers has recruited a high-priced team of former executives from the private sector to turn it around after years of scandal and financial problems.
Los Angeles, CA – The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog has written California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the District Attorneys of Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles calling for an investigation of money laundering and bribery relating to the fundraising scandal engulfing California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.
UPDATE: 9/20 Consumer Watchdog sent this letter to the California Attorney General and District Attorneys for Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles along with the information below.
Los Angeles-- The Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating two regulators at the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources for conflicts of interests raised in a July complaint by Consumer Watchdog.
Sacramento, CA — Amendments to AB 54 (Ting) last night freed $5 million for beleaguered consumer recycling centers, seeming to seal what appears to be a short-term band-aid for recycling center problems until a larger solution is developed next year. AB 54 already provided $5 million for mobile recycling and a short few months exemption for grocers affected by August recycling center closures that would otherwise have to redeem bottle and can deposits earlier.
