Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
ProPublica, NPR: Inside Corporate America’s Campaign to Ditch Workers’ Comp
Oct 14 2015 // This article was published by ProPublica and NPR and is reprinted with permission. Standing before a giant map in his Dallas office, Bill Minick doesn’t seem like anyone’s idea of a bomb thrower. But backed by...
Kentucky Nursing Home Industry Seeks Less Regulation
Oct 14 2015 // Kentucky’s nursing home industry is seeking relief from what it calls heavy-handed state oversight even though a recent review found multiple instances where its residents have been mistreated. The review by The...
Trial Update: Ex-Massey CEO Blankenship Downplayed Black-Lung Threat to Miners
Oct 14 2015 // Ex-Massey Energy Chief Executive Officer Donald Blankenship downplayed the threat that miners develop black-lung disease in shafts choked with coal dust, jurors in the executive’s criminal trial heard in a recorded...
South Carolina Insurance Head Issues Emergency Orders for Storm Recovery
Oct 13 2015 // The South Carolina Department of Insurance (SCDOI) has issued two bulletins to insurers in an effort to aid with storm recovery efforts in the state. South Carolina Insurance Director Raymond Farmer issued an emergency...
Colorado Judge Approves $7M Award for Homes on Sinking Soil
Oct 13 2015 // A Colorado judge has upheld an arbitrator’s award of more than $7 million to 20 homeowners at a golf course subdivision near Glenwood Springs whose properties were constructed on a soil linked to sinkholes and...
Delaware Judge Slashes $100M Boston Scientific Mesh Verdict to $10M
Oct 13 2015 // A Delaware judge on Oct. 9 said Boston Scientific should only have to pay $10 million to a woman originally awarded $100 million by a jury who found she was injured by transvaginal mesh, a device that is the subject of...
UK Regulator Looks to Change ‘Culture’ after Insurance Reporting Fiasco
Oct 13 2015 // The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has “deep cultural problems,” a senior U.K. lawmaker Andrew Tyrie said after the regulator responded to parliamentary criticism of how it handled a newspaper article that...
GOP Candidate Rubio Criticizes Gov’t Regulation of On-Demand Economy
Oct 12 2015 // Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio vowed to cap the number of regulations government can impose on businesses, particularly “on-demand” startups like Uber and Airbnb that he considers models for a...
What’s Driving Surplus Lines Insurance Growth?
Oct 12 2015 // Times are good for surplus lines professionals. The surplus lines industry reached new heights in 2014, growing direct premium written (DPW) in 2014 to $40.2 billion – the highest point in history, reports A.M....
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Approves Quebec Oil Train Crash Settlement
Oct 12 2015 // A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a settlement that clears the way for payments to victims of Canada’s Lac-Megantic crude-by-rail derailment, according to the trustee for the insolvent railway at the heart...
California Wants Half Its Power from Renewable Energy by 2030
Oct 9 2015 // Gov. Jerry Brown dramatically increased California’s climate-change goals, committing the state to use renewable energy for half its electricity and make existing buildings twice as energy-efficient in just 15...
Massachusetts Considers Ban on Handheld Cellphone Use While Driving
Oct 8 2015 // Families of those killed in distracted driving accidents are asking Massachusetts lawmakers to back legislation that would require drivers to use hand-free phones in the state. Foxborough, Massachusetts, resident Jerry...
Congress Pressured to Extend Deadline for Railroad Safety Technology
Oct 7 2015 // The head of Amtrak warned Congress that some passenger rail service outside the Northeast corridor will be suspended if lawmakers don’t extend a Dec. 31 deadline for railroads to install safety...
FAA Hopes to Send Message with $1.9 Million Penalty Against Drone Photographer
Oct 7 2015 // The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is proposing the largest fine to date against a drone operator as the agency cracks down on the booming use of unmanned aircraft in congested skies over populated areas. The agency...
Crisis Services Top Insurers’ Cyber Claims Payouts; Average Claim at $674K
Oct 5 2015 // New claims costs data reveal a wide discrepancy on costs associated with cyber losses. More than $75.5 million has been spent on cyber claims losses as reported in the latest cyber claims study published by NetDiligence, a...
Supreme Court Term Could Be Big for Business
Oct 5 2015 // Big business is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to curb class action litigation in a series of cases that dominate the nine justices’ business docket in the coming months. The court returns for its new term on Monday...
Florida Commissioner McCarty Asks FEMA for NFIP Rate Data by Dec. 15
Oct 5 2015 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty has followed through on his promise to State Senator Jeff Brandes to investigate the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) rating practices of Florida insureds. In...
California Court Rules Batmobile Entitled to Copyright Protection
Oct 5 2015 // Batman won’t have to worry about Batmobile knockoffs after a federal appeals court ruled the caped crusader’s vehicle is entitled to copyright protection. The Batmobile’s bat-like appearance and other...
Oregon Homes Demolished Without Proper Asbestos Removal
Oct 5 2015 // Contractors have been tearing down hundreds of Portland homes without properly removing the asbestos inside, a practice that ignores state regulations and could put workers at risk. An investigation by The Oregonian found...
Kentucky Judge Says Attorney’s Traffic School Can’t Dismiss 2,300 Cases
Oct 2 2015 // A Kentucky district court judge is challenging a county attorney’s revenue-generating traffic school in the state. Kentucky news outlets report Judge Sean Delahanty is opposed to the operation of Jefferson County...
