Lawmakers on a House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday sparred over what factors contributed to the deadly wildfires in Los Angles last month — splitting along party lines over whether the catastrophe was the result of climate change or, ironically, state environmental regulations.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform and Antitrust hearing at times turned verbally combative. It was provocatively titled “California Fires and the Consequences of Overregulation.”
Wisconsin GOP Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, who chairs the subcommittee, and fellow Republicans lobbed criticisms at California officials — including Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s elected Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara — arguing the state both failed to adequately manage its lands, while also blaming consumer protections for the state’s shrinking insurance market.
“Wildfires have been plaguing Southern California for hundreds of years,” Fitzgerald said. “Given the heightened-threat environment, one would think California would prioritize mitigation efforts to reduce the number and the strength of fires.
