Some of the safety issues discussed at the hearing, including the two firefighters burned with chemicals during a training exercise and with a large concrete bin crushed in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center, and management issues first disclosed to the public in the stories of luck.

“I am concerned that breaking the law and breaking the rules has become the cost of doing business for companies in Musk’s orbit,” said committee chairman Howard Watts, a Democrat, as he called the meeting. Watts noted that the Boring Company has fought every violation brought against the company since 2019.

The committee set a time on the agenda for representatives of the Boring Company to testify and answer questions, but no representative from the start appeared at the hearing. Boring sent a advertisement to the committee Sunday night, saying it was “unable to attend” and offering a seven-page response to a request for information previously sent to the committee. The response described the startup’s safety team, referred the committee to materials published by Nevada OSHA, and shared the safety “highlights” of its system.

The company’s absence drew heavy criticism from two Democratic members of the committee, who referred to the company as a “known bad actor” and a “criminal infringer.”

“I am extremely disappointed that a company worth $7 billion with a group of government affairs and lobbyists has not been able to make the time now for us to ask those questions – to ensure that our communities are protected from natural disasters,” Democratic state Sen Rochelle Nguyen said. “We don’t want to wait until it’s not a chemical burn or our community’s water is toxic. We want to make sure we can do what we can now.”

Chair Watts said the Boring Company’s written response “barely addressed the information we requested from them.”

While the Boring Company did not attend the hearing, representatives from Nevada’s Division of Industrial Relations and Department of Business and Industry testified, as well as representatives from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). The agencies answered detailed questions about inspections and enforcement efforts aimed at the Boring Company over the past few years and defended their regulatory approach. Nevada safety regulators acknowledged the agency did not follow its best practices during an inspection of firefighter fires and said it is implementing new policies and procedures.

“This is a fantastic project,” said Jennifer Carr, NDEP administrator. “It’s moving fast. It’s expanding into many areas of the city. Most of our permits are static facilities, and so we’re also challenged by the nature of the project.

The Governor’s Office, which luck reported looped by the Boring Company when the company was cited after firefighters were injured in its tunnels, REFUSES to send a hearing representative a letter.

Committee members said they hope to get information to the public about recent high-profile incidents and ensure that state agencies are positioned to regulate the Boring Company adequately to prevent future violations.

“I see this hearing today not only about innovation versus regulation, but about whether our review systems for enforcement and accountability are working as intended, whether or not they are strong enough to protect workers, first responders, and the public when the stakes are as high as this situation,” said Senator Nguyen. He added: “We don’t want to wait until it’s not a chemical burn or our community’s water is toxic. We want to make sure we can do what we can now.”