The more California Democratic politicians get caught acting unethically, the more obvious it becomes that the Democratic-run Legislature has zero interest in oversight and accountability.

For example, Democratic Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara drew heat from reporters last month when he skipped a hearing on the insurance crisis that he has largely avoided addressing for most of the past six years, only for news to leak that he was at a conference in Bermuda instead.

When he agreed to attend another hearing not soon after, news leaked that he had treated his office as a personal travel bureau, traveling to at least 46 countries during his tenure, taking mostly trips for which his office has struggled to provide documentation or even legitimate purposes, and on the taxpayers’ dime.

Instead of showing any concern for the obvious ethical lapses, the Legislature simply shrugged.

When Susan Rubio, the Democratic chair of the Senate Insurance Committee who appears to have her own ethical issues, was pressed on whether Lara should have attended the skipped hearing instead of traveling to Bermuda she replied “It’s not for me to say.”

Oh really? She can’t say whether the insurance commissioner should attend a hearing you called on the state’s insurance crisis?

And if there’s any concern over Lara’s taxpayer-funded jetsetting, I haven’t seen it. No public comments, no calls for an audit, no oversight hearing. Really, nothing that might appear that lawmakers are taking their jobs seriously.

No wonder there’s an insurance crisis.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident.

This week we learned that state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond made as much as $330,000 in side jobs (on top of his $200,000 state salary) since assuming office in 2019 by working for nonprofits to which he was also steering contributions from donors.

This is the same Thurmond who has been criticized for being an absentee officeholder, for creating a toxic work environment and for steering a cushy, dubious job to his longtime buddy who lives 3,000 miles away from the office.

Was there a conflict of interest with his side jobs? It certainly appears that way, but we’ll never know for sure because the Legislature won’t ask.

Seemingly desperate not to upset fellow Democrats, the state really has no checks and balances. Why do Californians have to wait for the feds to investigate bad behavior to get any accountability?

It’s not just ethical breaches. Basic policy oversight is largely abdicated as well. Earlier this year Gov. Gavin Newsom called the Legislature into a special session to approve aid for Los Angeles’ wildfire recovery efforts. While lawmakers were quick to hand the city a check, it avoided considering the many apparent policy failures in the city’s response to the fires.

Why was an important reservoir left empty for nearly a year? Why was the city’s water supply unable to withstand the firefighting? When the city’s fire chief was fired, was it deserved or was she simply the fall person for Mayor Karen Bass? Why is the city stonewalling journalists trying to get basic public records? Why has the city only approved four permits for rebuilding homes in more than two months?

Reporters might answer these questions, but lawmakers will not. Lawmakers will escort Bass around Sacramento to ask for money, but they won’t ask any questions about how the money will be used.

For years now California Democrats have attacked Republicans for not standing up to President Donald Trump, for not putting “country over party,” (though Republicans have broken from Trump many, many times). But they will not put state over party.

One of the few times I can remember Democratic lawmakers seeking real answers from the state government was during COVID, when EDD was incapable of processing most unemployment claims for all the people it forced out of jobs, and many of those that were processed were fraudulent. Though the enforcement was light, lawmakers at least seemed mad.

But that was a rarity. When Democratic former Assemblyman Roger Hernandez was under a restraining order from his wife, Susan Rubio, who is mentioned above, for domestic violence, he remained a committee chair for several months. It wasn’t until a judge took further action that the speaker at the time did anything.

Two years ago the Legislature held another special session, this time on the trumped-up fantasy of price gouging from oil companies. Despite overwhelming evidence that high gas prices are the result of state policies and not corporate greed, the Legislature stuck to its narrative.

Though a study from USC published this week proved that high gas prices were the result of state policies, Californians should not expect the Legislature to consider which policies it could amend or repeal to give motorists a break and lower prices.

This is just the shortlist of examples. There are many, many more. If you are a Californian curious about why the state can’t seem to fix most problems, start here.

We do not get answers because the institution with the power of oversight is unwilling to ask relevant questions.

Matt Fleming is an opinion columnist for the Southern California News Group. You can find him on X, @FlemingWords