Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Johnson & Johnson Says Oklahoma Judge Miscalculated Opioid Award
Oct 3 2019 // An Oklahoma judge made a $107 million miscalculation when he ordered consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to help clean up the state’s opioid crisis, attorneys for the company argue in a...
High Hopes, Higher Hurdles for Pro-Cannabis SAFE Banking Act
Oct 3 2019 // Regardless of the odds facing a bill designed to enable regular banking and financial services for cannabis business, some experts are encouraged by passage through the House of something that would greatly benefit the...
Washington Joins Other States to Issue Flavored Vape Ban
Oct 3 2019 // Washington is joining several other states in banning the sale of flavored vaping products amid concern over the mysterious lung illness that has sickened hundreds of people and killed about a dozen across the...
How the Future of Insurtech Innovation Is Tied to the Traditions of Regulation
Oct 3 2019 // It’s no secret: Innovators and regulators often clash. But both are needed to help enable a dynamic, consumer-friendly property/casualty industry in the future, insurance and insurtech experts said...
Judge Rules Harvard’s ‘Fine Admissions Policy’ Passes Constitutional Test
Oct 2 2019 // Harvard University’s undergraduate admissions program does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, rejecting a lawsuit brought by opponents of affirmative action and...
New York Court Denies Industry Request to Delay E-Cigarette Ban
Sep 30 2019 // A state judge has denied the vaping industry’s request to delay a New York emergency ban on flavored e-cigarette sales. Acting state Supreme Court Justice Gerald Connolly on Friday refused to issue a temporary...
U.K. Embraces E-cigarettes, as U.S. Scrambles to Crack Down on Vaping
Sep 30 2019 // While the U.S. scrambles to crack down on vaping, Britain has embraced electronic cigarettes as a powerful tool to help smokers kick the habit. The Royal College of Physicians explicitly tells doctors to promote...
How Early Signs of Lung Effects of Vaping Were Missed and Downplayed
Sep 30 2019 // Scientists, regulators and e-cigarette proponents missed, ignored or downplayed signs that vaping could significantly damage the lungs for nearly a decade, a review of medical literature, government documents and...
Analysts See Senate Joining House on Marijuana Banking Law
Sep 29 2019 // A stronger-than-expected 321-103 vote in the House in favor of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, which allows banks to service the cannabis industry, sets the stage for likely passage in the Senate, according to...
U.S. Private Flood Insurance: The Journey to Build a New Market
Sep 27 2019 // Not long ago, private flood insurance was thought to be an impossible dream in the property/casualty sector. There were numerous arguments supporting the common wisdom that a meaningful market for residential flood...
North Dakota Lawmakers Studying Pros, Cons of Recreational Pot
Sep 27 2019 // North Dakota lawmakers have begun studying the consequences of legalizing marijuana in the state, a move that comes amid a pair of proposed citizen-led initiatives that aim to make the drug legal for recreational...
House Passes SAFE Marijuana Banking Bill by Big Margin
Sep 26 2019 // The U.S. House advanced legislation designed to let banks do business with cannabis companies in states that permit marijuana sales, a step that some supporters see as helping to pave the way to nationwide...
Opioid Trial Judge, Overseeing 2,000 Lawsuits, Denies Bias, Refuses to Step Down
Sep 26 2019 // The Cleveland judge overseeing more than 2,000 federal lawsuits over alleged opioid abuses refused to disqualify himself from a bellwether trial set to start next month, rejecting a request by drug distributors and...
Lawmaker Wants Rhode Island to Ban Flavored E-Cigarettes
Sep 26 2019 // A lawmaker in Rhode Island plans to introduce a bill to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. Rep. Julie Casimiro says she’s planning to propose a ban after the new legislative session begins in January. She says...
Judge Approves $54M Settlement in Duke University Hiring Lawsuit
Sep 26 2019 // A federal judge is closing a lawsuit that Duke University is settling over claims that it and nearby University of North Carolina conspired to hold down salaries of thousands of medical workers by not hiring staff away...
Group Behind California’s Data Privacy Law Wants Another One on the Ballot
Sep 25 2019 // The group behind California’s pending data privacy law is working to propose for the upcoming ballot a new law that would give consumers new data rights and place stricter obligations on companies. The group has...
Texas Windstorm Insurer: New Laws Bring Organizational Changes
Sep 25 2019 // The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) reports that working to implement new laws that change how TWIA does business and serves policyholders. The association recently issued the following update on a few...
U.K. PM Johnson Vows to Exit EU (With or Without a Deal) After Historic Court Defeat
Sep 24 2019 // A defiant Boris Johnson hit back at the U.K.’s top judges and vowed to take the country out of the European Union next month, despite suffering an unprecedented legal defeat over his Brexit strategy in the highest...
Dive Boat, Ghost Ship Fires in California a Lesson in Proving Negligence
Sep 23 2019 // One was a ship in name only, an artist commune set up in an Oakland warehouse. The other was a bona fide boat afloat on the ocean off Santa Barbara. Both became fiery death traps for a combined 70 souls, two of the worst...
Judge Allows Tesla Investor’s Claim Over Musk’s ‘Extraordinary’ $56B Performance Pact
Sep 23 2019 // A Delaware state judge has rejected a request by the board of Tesla Inc. to dismiss a stockholder complaint over an “excessive” 2018 performance award to CEO Elon Musk. In the spring of 2018, shareholders of...
