California commission explores complaints about insurance commissioner trip costs
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission is looking into a complaint that Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has used taxpayer money to pay for international trips, according to a report from ABC 7 News.
According to the newscast, Lara has been on at least 48 trips since he came into office in 2019, but some of his travel records are missing. This includes at least 11 taxpayer-funded trips to Colombia, Paris, and Toronto.
The TV station started digging into Lara’s spending after he missed the first key state insurance briefing earlier this year because he was traveling in Bermuda. The station says questions arose about Lara’s attendance record at insurance meetings.
Lara’s office has failed to respond to most questions about the 48 trips for more than nine months, the article says. The office did identify a direct business purpose for seven of the trips.
“Due to incomplete records, it’s unclear how many of these trips were taxpayer-funded,” the article says. “Receipts show expenses for at least 13 pricey trips were on taxpayers’ dime.”
Trips identified in the TV station’s investigation include a five-star hotel stay in New York City for PrideFest that cost taxpayers more than $11,600. No insurance-related meetings were included on Lara’s calendar during the trip, the article says. However, a VIP rooftop event with “DJ Kitty Glitter” was scheduled. Private security for various events on the trip cost more than $9,400.
On his trip to Bogotá, Colombia, for an “LGBTI Political Leaders Conference,” he spent $24,000, with $7,000 on “taxi fares,” the article says.
Other trips include Scotland, Egypt, Chile, Costa Rica, Tokyo, Uruguay, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Guatemala, Ireland, and three trips to Bermuda, the article says.
California State Assemblymember Greg Wallace, who serves as vice chair of the Assembly Insurance Committee, told the TV station that the situation was “concerning.”
“If you were to ask my office the purpose of government travel, we would be able to identify every single benefit that came from these trips,” Wallace is quoted as saying in the article.
Wallace told the station he is pursuing a state audit on the matter.
According to the article, Lara did not respond to repeated attempts for comment. His office did not respond to information on most of the requested trips, but did send a statement addressing the Bogotá trip.
“As the first openly gay person elected to lead a statewide office in California history, and one of the nation’s most visible gay leaders, Commissioner Lara was invited to speak on the fight for human rights — at the same time he was leading the fight for health insurance equality with other state insurance commissioners,” the statement says.
After the trip, he advised insurers that prior use of PrEP, an HIV prevention medication, cannot be used to justify denial of coverage or higher premiums, the office told the TV station.
He also led an effort with 17 other insurance commissioners in 2019 to protect federal rules addressing unfair treatment of LGBTQ people, the article says.
“But the business or mission-critical purpose for the majority of the 48 trips remains unclear,” the news article states.
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Photo of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara courtesy of California Department of Insurance