Los Angeles, CA -- Consumer Watchdog filed its Opening Brief in a California Public Records Act (“CPRA”) lawsuit against Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Department of Insurance.  The CPRA suit alleges that Lara and the Department of Insurance failed to search for and produce records r

Los Angeles, CA — State approvals for permits to fix or deepen existing oil wells skyrocketed in the second quarter by 124% over the same time last year, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance said today.  Some of the permit approvals by the California Geologic Energy Management Division (Cal

Los Angeles, CA -- A Consumer Watchdog examination of public filings reveals that insurance companies have inserted provisions into the fine print of their home, condo and renters’ insurance policies that allow them to limit or deny coverage after a wildfire in violation of California la

Los Angeles, CA - A bill requiring oil refiners to disclose their per gallon profits monthly passed out of the California Assembly Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 8 - 3. The legislation has already passed out of the California Senate by a vote of 22 - 4.

Los Angeles, CA -- Consumer Watchdog filed a “friend of the court” brief urging the California Supreme Court to reaffirm the ability of non-profit organizations and other groups to bring lawsuits on behalf of the public under California’s land

Los Angeles, CA - Today, the California State Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill 11-0 that would require agencies to retain all public records for a minimum of two years.

Los Angeles, CA—The true cost to the public of California’s oil and gas production and combustion is estimated to reach $10 trillion by 2045, a new report released today by Consumer Watchdog finds.  Californians will be paying more than $400 billion annually in public costs caused by fossil fuels

Los Angeles, CA -- Seven insurance companies have contributed $122,500 to the LGBTQ Caucus, which in turn spent the money on an independent expenditure campaign to re-elect Ricardo Lara as insurance commissioner without disclosing the source of the donations.
 

Los Angeles, CA - Today, the California State Assembly passed a bill 65-0 that would close a loophole in state law that allowed Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to influence decision-making at the Department of Insurance without registering as a lobbyist.  On Monday, the Assembly voted 73-0 t

Los Angeles, CA - A bill requiring oil refiners to disclose their per gallon profits monthly passed out of the California Senate by a vote of 22 to 4 and will now be heard in the California Assembly.

VIDEO AVAILABLE: HD Video of Medical Malpractice Survivors’ Press Conference Commenting on Bill Available Here: https://youtu.be/sC6Gz0onikA

Los Angeles, CA - The Department of Insurance has engaged in a “pattern and practice of obstructing access to public records,” according to Consumer Watchdog.  
 

Photo: Steven and Scott Olsen, whose tragic story inspired today’s medical malpractice reform.

Los Angeles, CA -- The latest investor profits reports show that California oil refiners are making unprecedented profits from refining oil into gasoline in the first quarter of 2022. 

Kern County, CA – Supervisor Leticia Perez and the Kern County Board of Supervisors will proclaim May 2022 to be Latina Maternal Health Awareness Month at their May 10th meeting at 9:00 am on Mexican Mother’s Day.

Los Angeles, CA - The California families harmed by medical negligence who launched the Patients for Fairness coalition (http://www.patientsforfairness.org) responded favorably to news of a potential legis

Los Angeles, CA -- With gas prices sky-high, legislation requiring California oil refiners to disclose once a month the price they pay for crude oil and the profit margins they make on the gasoline they refine and sell moved out of the California Se

Sacramento, CA – Ethics legislation to shine a light on insurance industry influence over decision-making at the Department of Insurance was killed by the Assembly Insurance Committee today when members refused to give the bill a vote.
 

Los Angeles, CA – Assemblymember Bill Quirk and the California State Assembly Committee on Business and Professions took an unprecedented step today to restore the public’s trust in their medical board by voting to support a public board member majority.

Los Angeles, CA—Permit approvals for drilling new Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) wells using higher risk steam injection techniques jumped up 59% in the first quarter of 2022 though California oil production continues to decline, according to analysis by FracTracker Alliance.

PUBLIC CITIZEN AND CONSUMER WATCHDOG RELEASED THE FOLLOWING TODAY – The California Assembly Insurance Committee has declined to hold a hearing on a bill that would require insurance companies to disclose their role in fueling the climate crisis.

Insurance Commissioner Lara Must Close Loophole in Regulation Allowing Insurers to Ignore WIldfire Mitigation for Denial or Non-Renewal Decisions

Los Angeles, CA -- City Attorney Mike Feuer should resign following a bombshell KNBC-TV report revealing Feuer was calendared for a meeting in which his office okayed an extortion scheme to keep the DWP billing debacle from becoming public.

Los Angeles, CA -- The nonprofit group Consumer Watchdog today praised the Newsom Administration and CalRecycle for investing hundreds of millions of dollars of the unredeemed bottle and can CRV funds into creating more convenien

LOS ANGELES, CA — A new report details the privacy problems posed for consumers from connected cars and points to new rules

Assembly Committee Approves Bill to Preserve Public Records

Watch the press conference of the bill launch.

Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog said a regulation proposed by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to require discounts for homeowners who protect their homes from fires is necessary and long overdue -- but falls short when it comes to insurance companies’ non-renewal decis

Los Angeles, CA – A new state wildfire protection framework released this week is an empty promise for homeowners if the Insurance Commissioner does not also require that insurance companies give discounts to policyholders who follow its recommendations, said Consumer Watchdog today. 

Los Angeles, CA -- The California Supreme Court has refused to review a lower court ruling that stripped the Insurance Commissioner of critical powers granted by California voters to protect against excessive insurance rates.

Los Angeles, CA —The rate at which consumers take bottles and cans for direct deposit refunds stands at 58.8% as of November, keeping California in third to last place among ten bottle deposit states.  Meanwhile unredeemed deposits in the state’s main beverage fund have swollen well past $500 mil

The Department of Insurance pulled back a policy to delete agency email databases days after Consumer Watchdog warned it would go to court to stop it.

Los Angeles, CA – Consumer Watchdog called on legislative leaders to enact a Patient Bill of Rights to reform physician oversight and accountability in California. The nonprofit consumer advocacy organization said reform proposals recently floated by the Medical Board of California are g

Los Angeles, CA —As the LA City Council votes today to ban oil and gas wells, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance reported that Governor Newsom has approved 10,212 oil drilling permits since he assumed office in 2019.

Los Angeles, CA — Consumer Watchdog said today that Governor Newsom firmly reject most of a proposed net metering decision before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) if he wants to claim the mantle of a climate leader.
 

Los Angeles, CA – Despite attempting to conceal it, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and top lieutenant Bryant Henley communicated with two former lawmakers representing a workers’ compensation insurer at the heart of a pay-to-play scandal, according to new evidence in a public records lawsuit

Los Angeles, CA – Insurance companies who profit by denying fair compensation to patients injured or killed by medical malpractice have put up $27.8 million to oppose the Fairness for Injured Patients Act.

Los Angeles, CA---Recycling scams are costing California consumers potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in nickel and dime deposits stolen through fraudulent bottle and can refunds, Consumer Watchdog said today.

Stockton, CA -- Women whose doctors sexually abuse and assault them are denied justice both by the Medical Board of California, as a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed this week, and in the courts because of the 1975 law limiting legal accountability for doctors that is the target

San Francisco, CA -- You can leave your heart in San Francisco, but now you can’t find a single grocery store or bodega in the city to return your bottles and cans for your nickel or dime CRV deposit.