Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Obama to Veto Affordable Care Act Repeal Passed by Congress
Jan 7 2016 // The House voted Wednesday to repeal most of Obamacare, sending legislation to President Barack Obama for the first time that would dismantle his biggest domestic policy achievement. The 240-181 House vote, following Senate...
Gas Leak Forcing Southern California Residents to Flee Neighborhood
Jan 6 2016 // The sulfurous scent of a natural-gas leak hangs in the air as mail carriers wearing gas masks make rounds to mostly deserted homes in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Porter Ranch. Life in the community of 30,000 people...
Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty to Resign After 12 Years in Job
Jan 5 2016 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty announced today that he is resigning effective May 2, 2016 after 12 years in the post to pursue other job opportunities, according to the Florida Office of Insurance...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Consider Changes to Bicycle Laws
Jan 5 2016 // Bicyclists can get little respect on the road — from drivers, pedestrians, even fellow cyclists. Sometimes the angry stares are deserved, but more often the friction stems from the fact that bicycles, cars, buses,...
Florida Approves Removal of 71,000 Policies from Citizens for March Takeouts
Jan 5 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved the removal of up to 70,000 personal residential policies and 1,500 commercial residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens). The...
6 Forecasts for P/C Insurance in 2016
Jan 4 2016 // Some, but not all, experts see an improving U.S. economy in 2016 helping to boost the property/casualty (P/C) insurance sector. Some of these prognosticators are more optimistic than others. But most also anticipate...
Maine Legislature Pushed to Address Volunteer Firefighter Shortage
Jan 4 2016 // Some Maine fire officials hope lawmakers will consider measures aimed to attract more volunteers and allow departments to remain financially afloat. Small towns throughout Maine face a shortage of trained firefighters and...
Insurance Journal’s Most Popular East Region Stories of 2015
Dec 31 2015 // As the year 2015 comes to a close, here’s a look at InsuranceJournal.com’s most popular East region news stories of the year. Among the 1,100 stories posted in the East region this year, the following were 50...
Utah’s Texting While Driving Stops Rise Again in 2015
Dec 31 2015 // More people were pulled over for texting, emailing or checking Facebook on their cellphones behind the wheel on Utah’s highways in a six-month snapshot of 2015, marking a second year of growth in stops since the law...
China Anti-Terrorism Law Raises Implementation Concerns: European Chamber
Dec 31 2015 // The vague wording of China’s new counter-terrorism law raises concerns about how telecommunications carriers and network service providers will be expected to implement the regulations in practice, the European...
Judge OKs 2 Shareholder Class Actions Against Facebook Over IPO
Dec 30 2015 // A federal judge has certified two shareholder class actions accusing Facebook Inc. of hiding concerns about its growth forecasts prior to the social media company’s May 2012 initial public offering. U.S. District...
Florida Lawmakers to Industry: We Want YOU to Join State Flood Insurance Market
Dec 30 2015 // “We think the time is right for you all to explore the [Florida] flood insurance market.” That was the message Florida Senator Jeff Brandes gave insurance industry attendees at the first ever Florida Flood...
Judge Orders PG&E to Face Most Charges in Deadly California Pipeline Blast
Dec 30 2015 // Pacific Gas & Electric Co. must face the most serious charges related to a 2010 explosion that killed eight people in a San Francisco suburb as the utility heads to a jury trial next year over claims it ignored the...
Judge Orders Online Poker Company to Pay Kentucky $870M
Dec 30 2015 // A Kentucky state judge ordered an online poker company to pay Kentucky $870 million and sternly rebuked the company for making “a calculation that breaking the law was good for business.” Casino-style gambling...
Wall Street May Create UK-Like Registry of Misbehaving Bankers, Traders
Dec 29 2015 // Bankers’ misdeeds would be cataloged, by name, on a private registry for hiring managers under a proposal that’s gaining traction as Wall Street firms struggle to restore reputations damaged by the financial...
Cab Drivers Fight Back as Uber Looks to Expand to Upstate New York
Dec 28 2015 // New York State lawmakers returning to Albany for the usual debates over taxes and spending will also take on an issue even more basic to many New Yorkers — the options for getting home from the train station, the...
Judge Slows Outcome of California Uber Drivers’ Suit
Dec 28 2015 // Uber Technologies Inc. won a ruling that may put off the outcome of a bid by California drivers to be treated as employees in a lawsuit that has grown dramatically in both size and potential liability. U.S. District Judge...
South Carolina Lawmaker Plans to Seek Additional Aid for Farmers
Dec 28 2015 // The state House’s budget leader says he wants to reassure South Carolina farmers devastated by October’s flooding disaster that the Legislature will help them out. Lawmakers must help farmers survive direct...
Oklahoma Judge Won’t Toss Suit over Earthquake Damage
Dec 22 2015 // An Oklahoma judge has rejected a request from two energy companies to throw out a lawsuit by a woman who claims she was injured in an earthquake caused by the injection of wastewater. Lincoln County District Judge Cynthia...
Flood, Fraud & the Florida Market: McCarty Talks Hot Insurance Topics in 2015
Dec 21 2015 // It was another busy year for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). From conducting the annual property/casualty data call and subsequent stress test of Florida property insurers, to working on the depopulation...