Letter to Commissioner Lara re Serious Concerns About Task Force Transparency & Conflicts of Interest

Letter to Commissioner Lara re Serious Concerns About Task Force Transparency & Conflicts of Interest

Attorneys issue a public letter to both Commission Ricardo Lara and Smoke Claims and Remediation Task Force Chair Tony Cignarale. Their letter states that while the Commissioner’s stated goals are commendable in forming the Task Force, serious concerns have emerged regarding its transparency, membership, and potential bias. The Task Force has been meeting without public notice or participation, lacks independent academic experts, includes members with current or recent financial ties to insurers, and does not include comparable consumer-side experts such as public adjusters or consumer attorneys. These issues raise conflict-of-interest concerns under the Political Reform Act and risk creating de-facto regulatory guidance outside the required Administrative Procedure Act rulemaking process. Because its recommendations could affect the health and safety of thousands of wildfire-impacted homeowners, letter requests that the Department of Insurance take corrective actions:

1. recuse conflicted members or rebalance the group toward independent experts;

2. add qualified consumer-side specialists;

3. require and publish conflict-of-interest disclosures;

4. open the process to the public with notices, agendas, attendance, comment, and a public docket;

5. publish drafts, data, and scientific bases for review; and

6. commit that no guidance will be used or enforced without formal APA rulemaking.

Read the full letter here.