Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mine Worker Advocates Worried Coal Firm’s Tax Cut Jeopardizes Black Lung Fund
Mar 22 2019 // The Trump administration and coal industry allies are insisting that a federal black lung trust fund will continue to pay benefits to sick miners despite a drastic cut in funding. But the expected shortfalls will be...
Ohio Judge Sides with Dum-Dum Makers in Lollipop Lawsuit
Mar 21 2019 // A federal judge is siding with the makers of Dum-Dums lollipops in its lawsuit against a rival candy maker. A preliminary injunction handed down in Ohio says Tootsie Roll Industries must at least temporarily stop using its...
UK on Brink of No-Deal Divorce with EU as Brexit Endgame Nears
Mar 21 2019 // Theresa May gambled on a desperate bid to get her Brexit deal approved by Parliament, as a standoff with the European Union drove Britain to the brink of an economically disastrous no-deal divorce. The premier heads to the...
Judge Grants NRA Bid to Question N.Y. Ex-Official Over Insurance Inquiry
Mar 21 2019 // The National Rifle Association won permission from a judge to question a former New York regulatory official under oath in a lawsuit claiming the state illegally discouraged banks and insurers from doing business with the...
Conservation, CarFax-Like Disclosure, Means-Test in Mix of Flood Insurance Reforms
Mar 21 2019 // The federal flood insurance program has a knack for inspiring ideas from reformers across the political spectrum on how to improve government. If some of today’s reformers get their way, flood insurance will become a...
Kentucky Court Overturns $21M Judgement in Helicopter Crash Case
Mar 20 2019 // The Kentucky Court of Appeals has overturned a $21.7 million judgment against a helicopter company regarding a crash that killed three people. Three people died in June 2013 when an air ambulance crashed as it was...
Insurance Department Takes Over Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace
Mar 19 2019 // The Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace has become part of the state’s insurance department after Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed legislation dissolving the marketplace board as a separate entity. The state Legislature...
Commentary: How Florida AOB Crisis Is Impacting State’s Independent Agents
Mar 19 2019 // Florida’s “one-way attorney fee” statute enacted to protect Florida policyholders from large insurance companies has instead spawned a huge industry of assignment of benefits (AOB) predators who take...
Nevada Mulling ‘Textalyzer’ Tech That Scans Cellphones After Crashes
Mar 18 2019 // Most states ban texting behind the wheel, but a legislative proposal could make Nevada one of the first states to allow police to use a contentious technology to find out if a person was using a cellphone during a car...
Nuclear Power Industry Pushes for Fewer Inspections
Mar 18 2019 // The nuclear power industry is pushing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to cut back on inspections at nuclear power plants and throttle back what it tells the public about plant problems. The agency, whose board is...
How Laws Will Tell Humans From Robots Is No Joke: Viewpoint
Mar 18 2019 // There’s a lot of loose talk about convergence between people and robots. As some see it, the rise of artificial intelligence will make humans obsolete — or at least force people to think more like machines. Whether...
FDA Warns of Asbestos Claire Cosmetics Under Fire; Seeks New Rules on Talc
Mar 18 2019 // The U.S. Food and Drug Administration called on Congress to modernize rules for cosmetics safety after it issued an alert warning consumers not to use three cosmetics products sold by Claire’s Stores Inc. because...
Groundwater Near Most Coal Plants Polluted by Coal Ash
Mar 18 2019 // More than 90 percent of U.S. coal-fired power plants that are required to monitor groundwater near their coal ash dumps show unsafe levels of toxic metals, posing potential harm to drinking water, according to a study...
Underwriting and Rating Tools Under Attack in State Legislatures
Mar 18 2019 // California, a bellwether state in many ways, rang in 2019 with a regulation banning the use of gender in auto insurance underwriting and rating. Prior to this regulation, insurers used gender in California for more than 30...
Emerging Economies to Take Larger Stake in Global Growth in 10 Years
Mar 18 2019 // Emerging markets will remain the growth engine of the global economy and insurance industry during the next decade, reflecting a continuing shift of economic power from west to east, according to Swiss Re Institute’s...
Mass. High Court Rules Statute of Repose Applies to Asbestos-Related Claims
Mar 18 2019 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a statute of repose barring many construction-related personal injury claims after a time limit of six years also applies to claims involving diseases with extended...
Florida Lawmakers Repeal Ban on Smokable Medical Marijuana
Mar 15 2019 // The Florida Legislature met Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ deadline to hand him a bill to repeal the state’s ban on smokable medical marijuana when the House passed the legislation Wednesday. While lawmakers...
Maine Lawmakers Consider Bill on Horse-Drawn Buggy Safety
Mar 15 2019 // Maine lawmakers are considering a bill that would require horse-drawn buggies to display reflectors or lights at night. The Portland Press Herald reports the push comes after several crashes involving motor vehicles in...
Delaware Lawmaker Loses Bid to Revive Lawsuit Over City Property
Mar 15 2019 // A Delaware lawmaker who owns a house damaged by a fire that started in an adjacent city-owned dwelling has lost her bid to revive a federal lawsuit. Rep. Stephanie Bolden, a Wilmington Democrat, claimed that the city...
Sandy Hook Families Can Sue Gunmaker Remington, Court Rules
Mar 15 2019 // The gun industry suffered a stinging setback as Connecticut’s top court said families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre could move ahead with their lawsuit against Remington Arms Co. over...
