Embattled California official facing 2 new investigations

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco on June 1, 2019 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

Back in 2019 — the year after he defeated Republican Steve Poizner in the race for California insurance commissioner — Democrat Ricardo Lara drew criticism when it was discovered that he was soliciting money from people he was regulating.

Lara, in response to the controversy, vowed, "I must hold myself to a higher standard. I can and will do better."

Now, in late 2025, Lara is facing another controversy. The Los Angeles Times' Paige St. John, in an article published on December 4, reports that the former California state senator is "under two new investigations for potential campaign finance and ethics violations" and is "accused by consumer advocates of cozying up to those he regulates."

"Lara has asked companies to make donations to favored charities, including those that have business before his agency, according to a Times investigation," St. John reports. "The investigation found Lara logged at least 32 trips to 23 countries and territories — spending over 163 days abroad on state time — but consistently failed to disclose who paid for the five-star hotels, premium airline seats and fine dining. California ethics laws mandate that elected officials like Lara disclose reimbursements for such travel to the State Ethics Commission and agency websites."

Lara, according to St. John, "says he followed all state ethics and campaign spending rules." The Los Angeles Times journalist notes, however, that "payment records for two-thirds of Lara's trips are unreported or incomplete."

"The Times filed multiple public records requests for the full records, but the Department of Insurance at first said it didn't have receipts for most of Lara's spending," St. John explains. "In late November, however, the department released 452 pages of airline bookings for Lara made by the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners, the powerful, industry-funded trade organization that creates model regulations for states to enact. The nonprofit association paid for Lara's first- and business-class travel expenses, including a $11,626 ticket to Singapore for a 2024 conference on Asian insurance issues. A $11,730 reservation to Nepal in January of this year was canceled after the L.A. fires."

The Times reporter continues, "State employees accompanying Lara on foreign trips flew economy, for a fraction of the cost as their boss, state expense records show. Those include a state-paid $2163 ticket to Tokyo in 2023 for a senior department official, while the NAIC put Lara in a $9517 premium seat."

Read Paige St. John's full article for the Los Angeles Times at this link (subscription required).

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