California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has released the amended text of proposed regulations that modernize the state’s intervenor and Administrative Hearing Bureau processes under Proposition 103. These reforms aim to increase transparency, improve efficiency, and ensure every dollar spent during the rate review process serves the public interest.
Key updates in the amended regulations include:
- Applying new rules prospectively to maintain fairness in ongoing proceedings.
- Replacing the subjective “vexatious” standard with an objective “wasteful” standard for fee assessments, focusing on whether work advances case issues.
- Enhancing scrutiny of excessive billing through detailed task-by-task reviews.
- Increasing public access to rate proceeding documents by mandating timely online posting of pleadings, hearing calendars, and decisions.
- Establishing firm timelines and regular status updates from administrative law judges to minimize delays.
- Clarifying definitions and procedural rules to streamline hearings and reinforce the Commissioner’s authority under Prop. 103.
These changes reflect months of stakeholder engagement and public input, including a prior 45-day comment period. The amended text is now open for an additional 15-day public comment period, with all changes and supporting materials fully disclosed to ensure transparency.
Commissioner Lara emphasized that these reforms protect consumer dollars, promote meaningful public participation, and prevent unnecessary costs that ultimately fall on policyholders. Since 2019, the Department’s oversight under Prop. 103 has saved Californians $6.6 billion in insurance premiums and returned an additional $3.3 billion to drivers during the pandemic.
These regulatory updates are part of Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, the most significant overhaul of California’s insurance regulations in over 30 years, aimed at stabilizing the market, expanding coverage availability, and creating a modern, resilient insurance system for all Californians.
Public comments on the amended text can be submitted during the current 15-day period to help shape the final regulations.
