Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Safety Board Oks Regulation to Protect Workers from Wildfire Smoke
Jul 19 2019 // The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has adopted an emergency regulation designed to protect workers from hazards associated with wildfire smoke. The regulation is expected to go into effect in...
Judge Permits Short-Term Health Plans in Blow to Obamacare Supporters
Jul 19 2019 // The Trump administration can expand the sale of short-term health insurance policies that don’t meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act, a federal judge ruled, advancing the government’s efforts to undo...
Nuclear Industry Looks to Save Money Under Reduced U.S. Safety Oversight
Jul 19 2019 // Fewer mock commando raids to test nuclear power plants’ defenses against terrorist attacks. Fewer, smaller government inspections for plant safety issues. Less notice to the public and to state governors when...
Regulatory Issues Causing Ping An-Backed Lufax to Exit P2P Lending: Reuters
Jul 19 2019 // Lufax, one of China’s largest online wealth management platforms that is backed by financial giant Ping An Insurance, plans to exit its once-core peer-to-peer lending (P2P) business, three sources with direct...
Judge Supports Reducing $2 Billion Damages in Bayer Roundup Glyphosate Case
Jul 19 2019 // Germany’s Bayer AG welcomed on Friday a call by a U.S. judge to cut a $2 billion damages award to a Californian couple by a jury which found that its glyphosate-based weed killer had caused their cancer. The company...
5 New Lawsuits Filed in Fatal Minneapolis School Explosion
Jul 18 2019 // Five new lawsuits have been filed more than two years after a natural gas explosion caused part of a Minneapolis school to collapse, killing two people and injuring nine others. The lawsuits say CenterPoint Energy and...
Judge Recommends $14M Award to Montana Neo-Nazi Trolling Victim
Jul 17 2019 // The publisher of a neo-Nazi website should have to pay the victim of an internet trolling campaign over $14 million and remove all posts that encouraged his readers to contact the Montana real estate agent, a magistrate...
N. D. Insurance Commissioner Urges U.S. Senate to Tackle Surprise Air Ambulance Bills
Jul 16 2019 // In a letter sent to U.S. Senate leaders in early July, North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, urged lawmakers to take action on the issue of surprise bills from air ambulance providers. Godfread wrote to Senate...
New Jersey Judge Says Lifeguard Can’t Be Sued Over Beach Collision
Jul 16 2019 // A New Jersey judge has ruled that a lifeguard who collided with a woman as he ran to cover a vacated lifeguard stand is protected by state’s Good Samaritan Act. The woman had sued North Wildwood, its beach patrol and...
Alphabet Has High Hopes for Its Drone Traffic Control App OpenSky
Jul 16 2019 // The company that brought you free digital maps and email wants to do the same thing for your drone. Wing LLC, an offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, on Tuesday unveiled a new app it calls OpenSky that it hopes will...
Court Rules Florida Medical Marijuana Regulations Are Unconstitutional
Jul 16 2019 // A Florida appellate court ruled that the state’s approach to regulating marijuana is unconstitutional, possibly allowing more providers to jump into a market positioned to become one of the country’s most...
Study Links Stricter Gun Laws to Lower Risk of Kids’ Deaths by Firearms
Jul 16 2019 // Children living in states with strict firearm laws are less likely to die from gun violence than those in states with more lax restrictions, according to a study in Pediatrics published Monday. The more rigorous the rules,...
Bayer Vows Appeal After Judge Cuts Roundup Jury Award to $25M from $80M
Jul 16 2019 // A federal judge on Monday slashed a damages award Bayer AG owed a California man who blamed Roundup weed killer for his cancer, to $25.27 million from $80.27 million, while rejecting the company’s bid for a new...
Missouri Governor Vetoes Repeal of Motorcycle Helmet Law
Jul 15 2019 // Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has vetoed a bill that would have allowed some motorcycle riders to drive without helmets, citing opposition to an unrelated provision in the measure. The legislation would have repealed...
House Democrats Eye Possible Ban on Big Tech Firms Offering Financial Services
Jul 15 2019 // A proposal to prevent big technology companies from functioning as financial institutions or issuing digital currencies has been circulated for discussion by the Democratic majority that leads the House Financial Services...
New Louisiana Rules for Self-Driving Trucks Effective Aug. 1
Jul 15 2019 // As companies work to design fleets of commercial trucks that won’t need a human in the driver’s seat, Louisiana lawmakers have written rules that self-driving vehicles will need to follow to truck commerce...
Wisconsin Court: Extra Insurance Not Needed for Enbridge Pipeline in Dane County
Jul 15 2019 // The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on June 27 that Canada-based Enbridge Energy doesn’t need to carry additional insurance for a pipeline project in Dane County, despite the local government’s insistence that it...
Texas Law Targets Surprise Medical Bills in Workers’ Comp
Jul 15 2019 // Texas lawmakers in the recent legislative session passed a bill addressing surprise medical bills injured employees have received after being treated at federal military facilities. Senate Bill 935 requires workers’...
Cyber Alert: New Era in Privacy Liability to Begin. California’s Data Privacy Law Could Be Game-Changer
Jul 15 2019 // As the nation’s most far-reaching data privacy law, California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), is set to begin Jan. 1, 2020, businesses and their insurers are preparing for a new era in cyber liability. Anxiety is on...
At NCOIL, Anti-Rebating Debate Ponders Fitbits and Free Turkeys
Jul 13 2019 // Is a free turkey a rebate? That was the question from Idaho Insurance Director Dean Cameron that stumped the experts. One of the more interesting debates of the National Council of Insurance Legislators’ summer...
