Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Kansas Lawmakers OK Bill Allowing Farm Bureau Non-ACA Compliant Health Plan
Apr 7 2019 // Republican lawmakers in Kansas pressed ahead with allowing the state Farm Bureau to offer health coverage to members that doesn’t satisfy the Affordable Care Act, a state-level effort to circumvent an Obama-era law...
Chemical Plant Fires Renew Safety Debate in Oil-Friendly Texas
Apr 7 2019 // Two major chemical plant fires near Houston just 17 days apart closed schools, leaked toxic chemicals into coastal waters and killed a worker, but there’s a good chance they won’t lead to big industry...
Oklahoma Lawmakers not so Happy About Purdue Pharma Settlement
Apr 7 2019 // A $270 million settlement between the state of Oklahoma and the maker of OxyContin praised last week as an innovative way to help combat opioid addiction is facing bipartisan criticism from Oklahoma lawmakers who say the...
Missouri Proposal Would Limit Local Tax Breaks for Flood Zone Development
Apr 7 2019 // With floodwaters again inundating parts of Missouri, the state Senate has backed legislation that could limit local tax breaks offered for new developments in flood plains. A bill given initial approval would prohibit new...
Judge: 4 African Americans Rejected from Louisiana Parish Jury Can Seek Damages
Apr 5 2019 // Four African Americans can move ahead with a lawsuit seeking damages from a Louisiana district attorney’s office over the racial composition of juries, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Dee Drell in...
California Weighs Catastrophic Wildfire Fund as Way to Protect Utilities
Apr 5 2019 // Creation of a catastrophic wildfire risk pool is emerging as the most likely option as California lawmakers seek to protect the solvency of investor-owned utilities from record payouts for fire damages. PG&E filed for...
Trump Deregulation Plan Facing Court Challenge by 3 States
Apr 5 2019 // California, Oregon and Minnesota sued President Donald Trump and several top cabinet officials over the administration’s requirement that federal agencies delete two regulations for every one they add. Lodged by...
Tech Firms Face Fines and Jail for Failure to Remove Violent Content in Australia
Apr 4 2019 // Australia will fine social media and web hosting companies up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover and imprison executives for up to three years if violent content is not removed “expeditiously” under...
UK Parliament Votes to Block Damaging No-Deal Brexit as Deadlock Continues
Apr 4 2019 // Britain took a decisive step away from a damaging no-deal Brexit as members of Parliament and political leaders backed efforts to prevent a disorderly departure from the European Union. The House of Commons vote shortly...
Judge Tells PG&E to Hold Dividends to Pay to Help Reduce Wildfire Risks
Apr 3 2019 // A U.S. judge said on Tuesday that PG&E Corp. cannot resume dividends and must use the money to reduce wildfire risk in California, stopping short of more costly measures he proposed earlier this year. The new criminal...
Twitter CEO Agrees with Facebook CEO, Supports Regulation of Social Media Platforms
Apr 3 2019 // Twitter Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said rules like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation have had a positive impact on the technology industry, remarks that come days after Facebook Inc. CEO Mark...
New York Judge Dismisses Some of Levine’s Claims Against Met Opera
Apr 3 2019 // A New York judge last week dismissed portions of a lawsuit filed by former Metropolitan Opera music director James Levine against the company last year. Levine was the Met’s music or artistic director from 1976-2016,...
3 Major Automakers Partner to Develop Autonomous Vehicle Safety Standards, Testing
Apr 3 2019 // Three major automakers said on Wednesday they were forming a consortium to help draw up safety standards for self-driving cars that could eventually help create regulations in the United States. General Motors Co., Ford...
Purdue’s Sackler Family Asks Judge to Toss Massachusetts Opioid Case
Apr 3 2019 // Members of the Sackler family behind OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP have asked a judge to toss a lawsuit by Massachusetts’ attorney general claiming they helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic, arguing it contains...
California Lawmaker Introduces Resilient Homes Initiative
Apr 2 2019 // A bill to that would enable the California Earthquake Authority to expand mitigation programs is making its way through state Legislature. State Sen. Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, this week released the...
Facebook CEO Zuckerberg Says He Backs Regulation of Internet Content, Privacy
Apr 2 2019 // Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg called for new global regulations governing the internet, recommending overarching rules on hateful and violent content, election integrity, privacy and data...
Government Relief Bypasses Farmers Who Lost Stored Crops in Floods
Apr 2 2019 // The Black Hawk military helicopter flew over Iowa, giving a senior U.S. agriculture official and U.S. senator an eyeful of the flood damage below, where yellow corn from ruptured metal silos spilled out into the muddy...
Big 4 Accounting Firms Should Separate Auditing, Consulting Work: UK Lawmakers
Apr 2 2019 // The “Big Four” accounting firms should be forced to legally separate their “cash cow” consulting work from their auditing businesses, a U.K. Parliament committee said...
Modernization on the Mind of Texas Insurance Commissioner
Apr 2 2019 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv Note: This is the first of a three-part series resulting from a conversation with Texas Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan. Becoming the chief insurance regulator of a large and populous...
Florida Looks to Add Insurance Requirements, Regulations for Cosmetic Surgery Clinics
Apr 1 2019 // Choeun Nuon traveled from her home in California to a Miami-area cosmetic surgery clinic to have a so-called Brazilian butt lift in February 2017. Instead of recovering after the procedure, the 32-year-old mother of two...
