Ricardo Lara

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An aerial view shows the devastation from the Palisades Fire on beachfront homes Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

California regulator mulls State Farm’s request for 22% premium hike for homeowners after LA fires

By Trân Nguyen - Associated Press

FILE - In this March 20, 2020, file photo, extremely light traffic moves in the mid-afternoon along the 110 Harbor Freeway toward downtown Los Angeles. Auto insurers are short-changing California motorists on refunds that were ordered last year because there have been far fewer motor vehicle accidents during the pandemic, the state's insurance regulator said Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

California says insurers owe drivers more pandemic refunds

By DON THOMPSON - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2020 file photo taken by a drone, residences destroyed by the Mountain View Fire line a street in the Walker community in Mono County, Calif. As consecutive years of catastrophic wildfires drive up the cost of insuring homes across California, state regulators announced on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021, a step toward creating incentives for retrofitting older homes to make them more resilient to fires. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

California sets home hardening standards to lower fire risks

By The Associated Press - Associated Press

In this Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020 file photo is California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara at a state Capitol news conference in Sacramento, Calif. On Monday, April 13, 2020, Lara ordered some companies to refund insurance premiums for March and April because of the coronavirus. The directive includes workers compensation, medical malpractice and private and commercial auto policies. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

California orders insurance premium refunds amid coronavirus

By Adam Beam - Associated Press

California orders insurance premium refunds during outbreak

By ADAM BEAM - Associated Press

FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2017, file photo, an apartment complex burns as a wildfire rages in Ventura, Calif. More than a million California homes are now protected under a new law that temporarily bans insurance companies from dropping customers in areas affected by recent wildfires, officials announced Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

California expands insurance protections in wildfire areas

Associated Press

FILE - This Nov. 15, 2018, aerial file photo shows the remains of residences leveled by the Camp wildfire in Paradise, Calif. The California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan is a state-mandated insurance pool required to sell insurance policies to people who can't buy coverage through no fault of their own. FAIR Plan policies are often limited to fire damage. Homeowners must purchase an additional policy to cover other hazards. Last month, state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara ordered the FAIR Plan to begin selling comprehensive plans next year, an order aimed at helping people who have lost their coverage because of the growing threat of wildfires. Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, the California FAIR Plan Association sued Lara, arguing his order was illegal because state law only requires the plan to sell basic property insurance. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Insurance plan fights overhaul aimed at wildfire areas

By ADAM BEAM - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 31, 2017 file photo, then-state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, speaks at a Capitol news conference in Sacramento, Calif. Lara, who is now the California Insurance Commissioner, announced Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, that Mercury Insurance Co. is ending its two-decade battle with California regulators by agreeing to pay the state more than $41 million in property and casualty penalty and interest payments. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Mercury Insurance ends fight with California for record $41M

By DON THOMPSON - Associated Press

Insurance regulator apologizes for taking industry donations

Associated Press

Democratic state Sen. Bill Dodd of Napa, left, and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, right, at the podium, speak at a news conference as Sacramento City Fire Department firefighters stand behind in the state Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. The two statewide officials want California to take out insurance to help cover taxpayers' costs in bad wildfire seasons. California has experienced 11 of the top 20 most destructive fires in its history since 2007. (AP Photo/Don Thompson)

California considers insurance to help with wildfire costs

By DON THOMPSON - Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2018 file photo, Roger Bloxberg, right, and his wife, Anne, embrace as they watch a wildfire on a hill top near their home in West Hills, Calif. Insurance claims from California's deadly November 2018 wildfires have topped $11.4 billion. State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, that more than $8 billion worth of damage comes from the fire that leveled the town of Paradise and killed 86 people. About $3 billion more is from two Southern California wildfires that ignited the same week. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Insurance claims from deadly California wildfires top $11.4B

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE - Associated Press

Ex-commissioner, state senator advance in insurance race

By BRIAN MELLEY - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 31, 2017 file photo, state Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, accompanied by members of the California Nurses Association, discusses his single-payer health care bill at a Capitol news conference. Lara is a candidate for California Insurance Commissioner in the upcoming California primary election. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

Diverse field running for California insurance commissioner

By BRIAN MELLEY - Associated Press

Diverse field running for California insurance commissioner

By BRIAN MELLEY - Associated Press

California withdraws immigrant health care request

By JONATHAN J. COOPER - Associated Press

Democratic California state Sen. Ricardo Lara said that he would amend the bill to remove language barring students who receive government grants from attending faith-based colleges in the state. (Associated Press)

California bill to ban grant students from religious colleges stymied

By Bradford Richardson - The Washington Times

During a tour of the Capitol in July, rabbis and imams from abroad take time to look at a statue of Father Junipero Serra, a Spanish missionary. The Muslim and Jewish clerics were on an interfaith tour of the United States. "Here in the United States, there is much more cooperation between Jews and Muslims than in Europe," said Rabbi Izhak Dayan, the chief rabbi of Geneva. (The Washington Times)

Statue of Pope Francis’ new saint could be kicked out of U.S. capitol

By Kevin J. Jones - Catholic News Agency

Senate OKs fundraiser ban at lobbyists’ homes

Associated Press

Bill would ease licensing rules for immigrants

Associated Press

State Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, called for a floor vote to expel Democratic Sen. Rod Wright, who was recently convicted of perjury, during the Senate session in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday March 6, 2014. The motion was ruled out of order because a similar resolution was derailed by Senate Democrats last week. Wright has been granted a leave of absence as awaits sentencing. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Scandals prompt ethics bills from Senate Democrats

By DON THOMPSON - Associated Press