However, the local tradesmen claim (and this is pure hearsay, take it with a healthy dose of salt) that the California regulating authorities are entirely corrupt, and code approval is driven by bribery and/or cronyism, and that many of the “California grade” products are absolute crap.

I myself have used wall anchors for concrete block that were labeled as “California legal” that were terrible – they barely held a wooden shelf up, and only due to the load angle.  You could literally pull them out with your fingers, although I followed all instructions and used the included drill bit.

I would love to hear from some informed folks on the ground in Cali about this.  Is the code approval authority as corrupt as the school textbook approval process?  Or is that just a local legend here on the Right Coast?