Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Judge Tosses Louisiana Governor’s Anti-Discrimination Executive Order

Dec 16 2016 // An executive order issued by Louisiana’s governor that was aimed at protecting the rights of LGBT people in state government was thrown out on Dec. 14 by a judge who said the governor exceeded his authority. State...

Louisiana Insurance Department Chief Actuary Honored by NAIC

Dec 16 2016 // Louisiana Department of Insurance Chief Actuary Rich Piazza has been awarded the Robert Dineen Award for Outstanding Service and Contribution to the State Regulation of Insurance by the National Association of Insurance...

Tennessee Insurance Commissioner McPeak Elected NAIC President-Elect

Dec 16 2016 // Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak will serve in 2017 as president-elect of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the nation’s insurance...

California Commissioner Issues Anti-Steering Regulations

Dec 16 2016 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has issued new Anti-Steering in Auto Body Repair regulations that he says increase protections to prevent consumers from being misled or claims delayed when a collision-damaged...

Recreational Marijuana Law Takes Effect in Massachusetts

Dec 16 2016 // Having spent nearly three decades crusading for relaxed marijuana laws in Massachusetts, Bill Downing is greeting the state’s new recreational marijuana law with a mix of satisfaction and trepidation. The...

Top Florida Stories of 2016: Florida’s Evolving Flood Market

Dec 16 2016 // Before McCarty announced his decision to leave office, he initiated dialogue with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) over the National Flood Insurance Program’s rate making. Citing the fact that the flood...

U.S. Sees Mandate on Talking Vehicles Cutting Road Crashes, Deaths

Dec 14 2016 // U.S. automobile regulators want passenger cars and light trucks to wirelessly stream data about their movements and monitor other vehicles so they don’t crash into each other. All new light-duty vehicles would be...

Fate of Anthem-Cigna Merger Now in Judge’s Hands

Dec 14 2016 // The first phase of the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit to halt Anthem Inc.’s planned takeover of rival insurer Cigna Corp. is in the hands of a federal judge after the government wrapped up its arguments...

State Marijuana Laws Are Changing But Employer Attitudes, Federal Law Aren’t

Dec 14 2016 // Changing marijuana laws aren’t necessarily making weed more welcome in the workplace. For now, many employers appear to be sticking with their drug testing and personal conduct policies, even in states where...

Strickland, TDI Legal Division Deputy Commissioner, to Join Law Firm in Austin

Dec 13 2016 // Stanton Strickland, deputy commissioner of the Legal Division at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), will join the Mitchell Williams Insurance Regulatory Practice Group in its Austin office, the law firm...

Top Florida Stories of 2016: Workers’ Comp Market in Turmoil

Dec 12 2016 // It’s been a tumultuous year for the Florida insurance industry. It would seem the biggest story would be the end of Florida’s hurricane drought as the state got hit by not one, but two hurricanes this year, the...

NAIC Taps Former Pennsylvania Commissioner, Transamerica Exec Consedine as CEO

Dec 12 2016 // Ten months after its last chief executive officer departed, the national organization of state insurance regulators has named former Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael F. Consedine as its new CEO. Consedine will...

Uber Wants Pennsylvania to Delay Rules for Driverless Cars

Dec 9 2016 // Ride-sharing company Uber wants the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to delay policy recommendations that govern the testing of driverless cars. Uber, which has been testing the driverless cars in Pittsburgh for...

A Conciliatory Airbnb Offers Guidelines for Cities’ Homesharing Regulation

Dec 9 2016 // In a moment of peace-making with regulators, Airbnb on Wednesday released a set of policy suggestions for governments that are considering new laws for home- and apartment-renting. The document, which comes on the heels of...

Judge Sides with Insurer in Greg Allman Movie Producer Coverage Dispute

Dec 9 2016 // A California federal judge has rendered a ruling on the insurance dispute that emanated from the fatal train accident during the 2014 shooting of the Gregg Allman biopic Midnight Rider in Georgia. In a summary judgment...

Judge Denies State Farm’s Bid to Stop California Rate Reduction Order

Dec 8 2016 // California Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal has denied State Farm’s emergency request to stay Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones’s order directing State Farm to reduce homeowner and renter rates by 7...

Lawmakers Discuss Merging New Jersey Transit, Other Agencies

Dec 8 2016 // Lawmakers on Tuesday discussed the idea of merging embattled New Jersey Transit with other state agencies to save money to use for road, bridge and rail projects, and heard from experts about safety upgrades following a...

South Dakota AG: Crime Information May Be Released Under New Law

Dec 8 2016 // Government entities aren’t automatically blocked from releasing information such as the exact location of a crime to the public under a new victims’ rights constitutional amendment, Attorney General Marty...

Florida’s Citizens to Lawmakers: AOB Reform Must be Passed in 2017

Dec 8 2016 // Florida lawmakers can expect substantial pressure to tackle the assignment of benefits (AOB) and water loss claims crisis from the state’s insurer of last resort when Florida’s legislative session begins early...

Oregon Backs off Testing Regulations for Pot Industry

Dec 7 2016 // The state of Oregon has temporarily eased up on testing requirements for marijuana, days after business insiders warned that new rules would cause a drop in state tax revenues, an increase in black-market sales and layoffs...