Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S. Senate Panel Gives Green Light to Bill to Speed Use of Self-Driving Cars

Oct 5 2017 // A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday unanimously gave the green light to a bill aimed at speeding the use of self-driving cars without human controls, a measure that also bars states from imposing regulatory road blocks. The...

Where Trump’s Regulatory Rollback Is Having Impact

Oct 4 2017 // When disaster hits the chemical plants in Port Arthur, Texas, triggering fires like those that flared in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Hilton Kelley is the man fielding panicked calls from neighbors unsure whether they...

Safety Groups Oppose Autonomous Driving Bill Backed by Car Makers

Oct 4 2017 // A coalition of auto safety advocates criticized a bill before the U.S. Congress that would allow automakers eventually to sell up to 100,000 self-driving vehicles annually if they could demonstrate they are as safe as...

Tennessee Valley Authority Appeals Judge’s Order to Remove Coal Ash

Oct 4 2017 // A federal utility is appealing a judge’s order to excavate and move its coal ash at a Tennessee power plant. In Nashville federal court Monday, the Tennessee Valley Authority filed an appeal notice over its Gallatin...

Worker Safety, Regulation Overload Among Highlights of Drone Expo In California

Oct 3 2017 // Drones may already be impacting the world of workers’ compensation. Fewer workers on communications towers are falling to their deaths, according to Todd Schlekeway, executive director of the National Association of...

Growing List of Re/Insurers Make Decisions on Post-Brexit EU Headquarters

Oct 3 2017 // Everest Re Group Ltd. has said its Dublin-based unit has received approval from the Central Bank of Ireland to become a non-life insurer, joining a growing list of insurers setting up regulated EU operations in case...

States May Copy California’s Law to Give Employees Right to File Class Actions

Oct 3 2017 // This week, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether employees have the right to bring class actions against their bosses. With the court’s Republican majority restored this year by President Donald Trump, labor...

Legislators Struggle Over How to Handle Chemicals in North Carolina Water

Oct 3 2017 // North Carolina legislators are grappling with the growing knowledge that industries have discharged unstudied chemicals into the state’s waters for years, and that a recent upsurge in concern carries the risk of...

Finance Industry Sues to End U.S. Rule Curbing Forced Arbitration for Consumers

Oct 2 2017 // A coalition of corporate lobbying groups, led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to overturn a rule that makes it easier for aggrieved customers to file lawsuits against...

Trust But Verify: New York Cyber Regs Mean Managing Third-Party Security

Oct 2 2017 // This year, the beginning of September marked a critical implementation deadline for some of the toughest new cybersecurity regulations in the country – the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)...

Arizona Supreme Court Won’t Review Lower Court Ruling on Medical Marijuana

Oct 2 2017 // The Arizona Supreme Court is letting stand a lower court’s ruling that the state’s medical marijuana law is constitutional in requiring counties to approve reasonable zoning regulations. Maricopa County...

States Should Implement Stronger Safeguards for Consumers in Natural Disasters: Rutgers Report

Oct 2 2017 // As homeowners file insurance claims in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, many could find their level of protection depends on the state where their damaged home is located, according to a research report released by...

N.Y. Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgement in $58M Insurance Dispute

Sep 29 2017 // The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Department, has affirmed an earlier Supreme Court decision to grant summary judgement to TransCanada Energy USA and its subsidiaries, TC Ravenswood Services Corp....

Equifax Promises Improved Consumer Access to Credit Records

Sep 29 2017 // Equifax Inc. promised to make it easier for consumers to control access to their credit records in the wake of the company’s massive breach after the top U.S. consumer financial watchdog called on the industry to...

House Passes Bill to Assure Private Policies Satisfy Flood Insurance Requirement

Sep 28 2017 // The House of Representatives voted 264-155 today to pass bipartisan legislation that encourages the sale of private flood insurance in place of policies from the federal government in high risk areas where flood insurance...

Key Committee Senators Reach Deal on Autonomous Vehicle Bill

Sep 28 2017 // Two U.S. senators said late on Wednesday that they had reached a bipartisan deal on legislation aimed at easing hurdles to getting self-driving cars to drivers. U.S. Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the Commerce...

Top Challenges for London’s Re/Insurers Are Soft Market, Brexit, Regulations: IUA

Sep 28 2017 // The top three challenges facing London market companies are the soft market, Brexit and regulatory compliance, according to a survey of International Underwriting Association (IUA) members. In an online questionnaire,...

Michigan Bill Would Cut Auto Premiums by 20%

Sep 27 2017 // Michigan drivers would no longer be required to buy unlimited medical insurance to cover serious crash injuries under legislation that high-ranking supporters proposed Tuesday to significantly reduce the country’s...

NYWCA Launches Campaign to Stop Cuts to Injured Worker Benefits

Sep 27 2017 // The New York Workers’ Compensation Alliance (NYWCA) has launched a campaign to fight proposed Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) regulations and impairment guidelines that it says would drastically cut...

Japan Court Rules Tepco, not Government, Must Pay $3.4M to Ex-Fukushima Residents

Sep 27 2017 // A Japanese court ruled Friday [Sept. 22] that a utility, not the government, should pay compensation to dozens of former residents of Fukushima for losses to their livelihood caused by reactor meltdowns at a nuclear plant...