Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Senate Republicans Eye ‘Skinny’ Repeal of Obamacare
Jul 27 2017 // U.S. Senate Republicans begin their final push on Thursday to unravel Obamacare, seeking to wrap up their seven-year offensive against former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law that extended...
UK to Tighten Drone Regulations After Numerous Near-Misses in Past Year
Jul 27 2017 // British officials announced plans Saturday [July 22] to further regulate drone use in a bid to prevent accidents and threats to commercial aviation. The new rules will require drones that weigh eight ounces (226.79 grams)...
Private Insurers Cautiously Dip Toes Into Florida Flood Market Waters
Jul 27 2017 // Florida’s efforts in establishing a private flood insurance market have been hailed as a model by many other states looking to buff up their flood insurance offerings, as well as the National Flood Insurance Program...
Texas Bill Allows More Flexibility in Employee Health Benefit Plans
Jul 26 2017 // Small employers in Texas may now get some flexibility in selecting and retaining the health benefit plan of their choosing for their employees following the passage of a bill in the regular session of the Texas...
Court Rules for NBC in Defamation Suit by Oregon Sporting Goods Company
Jul 26 2017 // A federal appeals court has ruled that NBC News did not defame an Oregon sporting goods company by characterizing its exploding rifle targets as “bombs” in a report on the “Today” show. The 2nd U.S....
Republican-Led House Votes to Block Rule Allowing Consumer Class Actions
Jul 26 2017 // The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to erase a new rule that lets bank and credit-card customers band together in lawsuits, as the agency that drafted the measure, the Consumer Financial...
Senate Begins Debate, Kills McConnell Health Bill, Schedules ‘Vote-a-Rama’
Jul 25 2017 // Senate Republicans have embarked on an unpredictable and potentially chaotic floor debate aimed at repealing Obamacare amid significant doubts that they can muster 50 votes to pass any kind of health bill. GOP leaders will...
Maine Legislative Panel Mulls Raising 10 Percent Tax on Marijuana
Jul 25 2017 // As the legalization of recreational marijuana sales in Maine nears, a legislative panel has spent months pondering the best way to tax pot to bring in state revenue, fund regulatory enforcement and discourage the illicit...
Senators, Including Ailing McCain, Expected to Begin Vote on Health Bill Today
Jul 25 2017 // U.S. Senator John McCain, who underwent surgery last week for brain cancer, will return to Washington Tuesday as the Senate prepares to take up embattled healthcare legislation, a dramatic development that could boost...
FDA Chief Gottlieb Eyes Overhaul of Opioid Regulation
Jul 25 2017 // The Food and Drug Administration, as part of a sweeping overhaul in how it regulates opioid painkillers, plans to look to some unusual allies to limit the flood of the addictive pills — health insurers and companies...
UK Lawmakers Eye Options for Insurers, Banks to Keep Post-Brexit Access to EU
Jul 24 2017 // British lawmakers launched an inquiry on Monday into how banks and insurers could maintain access to the European Union market after Britain leaves the bloc in 2019. The House of Lords financial affairs committee said it...
Super Regional Carriers Urged to Educate ‘Suspicious’ Regulators on Big Data Use
Jul 24 2017 // “We’re curious and we don’t know. When regulators don’t know what’s going on, they get suspicious.” That was Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel acknowledging that like the...
Driverless Car Technology and Its Impact in New York
Jul 24 2017 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in May signed a budget bill into law allowing self-driving and self-parking cars to be tested for one year on New York public highways. Prior to this law going into effect, the technology was...
Pennsylvania Court Rules Section of State Workers’ Comp Act Unconstitutional
Jul 24 2017 // The Pennsylvania Supreme Court in June 2017 found a section of the state Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) unconstitutional in a move that challenges the way Pennsylvania has assessed workplace injuries for the...
Government’s Disruption in Insurtech Market: The Zebra CEO
Jul 24 2017 // Unsurprisingly, discussion surrounding government’s role in free markets with large corporations can be contentious, but it’s critical to understand that laws and regulations serve a purpose. To what extent...
Lobbyists at California Conference Call D.C. Vs. Sacramento Tension ‘Palpable’
Jul 24 2017 // The tension between Washington, D.C., and Sacramento seems to have created extra work for some lobbyists. “It’s absolutely palpable,” Paul Yoder, managing director for the California Coalition on...
Missouri Finally Creating Prescription Drug-Monitoring Plan
Jul 20 2017 // Missouri became the final state to create a prescription drug-monitoring program on July 17 when Republican Gov. Eric Greitens signed an executive order aimed at combatting a scourge that killed more than 900 residents...
House Committee Advances Bill to Let Autonomous Vehicles Bypass States
Jul 19 2017 // A U.S. House panel on Wednesday approved a sweeping proposal by voice vote to allow automakers to deploy up to 100,000 self-driving vehicles without meeting existing auto safety standards and bar states from imposing...
Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Limit Austin’s Construction Site Worker Protections
Jul 19 2017 // Note: This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Cesar Ovalde has been working in the construction industry for the better part of 15 years. Most of the time, he’s working on large commercial projects,...
Massachusetts Marijuana Deal Calls for Up to 20 Percent Tax on Pot Sales
Jul 19 2017 // State House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Monday on a revamped version of Massachusetts’ voter-approved marijuana law that would allow retail pot sales to be taxed at a maximum 20 percent rate. The deal...
