Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Rules Uber Drivers Can Seek Expense Reimbursement; Uber to Appeal
Dec 10 2015 // Uber Technologies Inc. drivers seeking to be treated as employees won a ruling that could add tens of thousands of them to the case and put hundreds of millions dollars more at stake. The drivers can now seek expense...
New Mexico Governor Wants Judges Eyed in DUI Cases
Dec 9 2015 // Authorities will step up roundups of drunken-driving fugitives in New Mexico and citizen watchdogs will one day monitor state judges who are routinely lenient on drunken-driving suspects under a plan unveiled Monday by...
California Judge Breyer Expected to Combine, Expedite VW Diesel Claims
Dec 9 2015 // A San Francisco judge who is the brother of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will oversee more than 500 consumer lawsuits against Volkswagen AG over claims of economic losses connected to rigged emissions-testing...
Financial Firms Hope to Use Spending Bill to Stall Retirement Advisor Rules
Dec 9 2015 // Wall Street may get one more shot to derail rules championed by the White House that would put tighter restrictions on brokers who advise Americans on saving for retirement. While financial firms trying to kill the...
Some Minot Officials Want Rewrite of Flood Regulations
Dec 8 2015 // Some officials in Minot, N.D., are proposing that the city rewrites its flood-related regulations in an effort to ease any future hikes in flood insurance premiums for residents. The Minot Daily News reports the...
Judge Suspends Lawsuit Against U. of Oklahoma over Stolen Nazi Art
Dec 8 2015 // A federal judge has suspended activity in a lawsuit that challenges the ownership of a painting that hangs at a University of Oklahoma art gallery as negotiations continue with a French woman who claims the artwork was...
Mississippi Capitol Moves Closer to Regulating Ridesharing Entities
Dec 8 2015 // Jackson has taken a step toward regulating ride-hailing services such as Uber after the Rules Committee of the Jackson City Council voted to send a suggested ordinance to the full council. The suggested regulations include...
South Carolina Lawmaker Proposes Sorority, Fraternity Information Database
Dec 8 2015 // A South Carolina lawmaker is proposing that the state set up an online database where violations, arrests and investigations linked to fraternity and sorority activities at the state’s public colleges can be...
Utah Judge Tosses Suit Against School in Teacher Sex Case
Dec 7 2015 // A Utah judge tossed out a lawsuit claiming a school district didn’t do enough to protect students from a female teacher who sexually abused three male students. Judge John Morris said he was ruling in line with a...
P/C Insurers Told ‘Fresh Approach’ Needed to Face Coming Disruption
Dec 7 2015 // U.S. property/casualty insurers should expect disruptive changes in a number of areas in 2016, including technology, pricing, customer demand, and “heightened regulatory creep,” consultant Ernst & Young...
New York Says Robust Cybersecurity Regs Needed for Insurers
Dec 7 2015 // New York regulators are considering a host of cybersecurity requirements for banks and insurers and urged other state and federal authorities to collaborate on establishing a framework of defenses for the financial...
Judge Says Kinder Morgan Owes Investors Damages for El Paso Pipeline Deal
Dec 4 2015 // Energy pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc. is on the hook for the bulk of $171 million in damages owed to investors in an affiliate of El Paso Corp., which Kinder Morgan acquired in 2014, a Delaware judge ruled on...
Washington Dairy Worker Death May Lead to More Regulations
Dec 4 2015 // The investigation into the death of a Mabton, Wash. dairy worker who drowned in a manure pit shows the man had drugs in his system. Randy Vasquez drowned March 4 in a manure storage lagoon at Riverview Ranch. The dairy was...
How a King of Coal Conspired Against Mine Safety
Dec 4 2015 // To hear Donald L. Blankenship tell it, the U.S. coal industry has been undone by inept regulators, evil unions, the media and “global warming hoaxers.” But for jurors at his criminal trial in Charleston, West...
Senate Joins House in Voting to Repeal Obamacare
Dec 3 2015 // The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to repeal the core of Obamacare, bringing Congress closer to sending legislation to President Barack Obama for the first time that would dismantle his signature domestic...
Huge Highway Bill Includes Safety, Trucking, Rail, Ex-Im Bank Provisions
Dec 3 2015 // U.S House and Senate lawmakers reached agreement on Tuesday on a $305 billion, five-year transportation bill that would revive the politically embattled Export-Import Bank while funding roads, bridges and mass transit. The...
North Carolina Judge Rejects 13-Year-Old’s Climate Change Challenge
Dec 3 2015 // A judge has ruled against a 13-year-old girl who took North Carolina to court over climate change, but the eighth-grader says she’ll continue to fight for environmental protections. The News & Observer of Raleigh...
California Improves by not Getting Worse
Dec 2 2015 // Sometimes, small victories are worthy of celebration. A qualified celebration of just that variety is in order at the California Department of Insurance headquarters in Sacramento to mark the relative improvement in the...
Illinois Judge: State Must Pay Home Health Workers’ Insurance
Dec 2 2015 // A judge has ordered Illinois to pay more than $13 million to cover the cost of health insurance for home healthcare workers. SEIU Healthcare Illinois took legal action against Gov. Bruce Rauner and Comptroller Leslie...
Conviction of Former Assembly Speaker Silver Brings Turmoil to N.Y. Politics
Dec 2 2015 // The conviction of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has shaken New York politics down to the granite foundations of the state Capitol, provoking fresh calls to overhaul a system that has stubbornly...
