Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida’s Parasailing Insurance Law Takes Effect
Oct 3 2014 // Florida parasailing operators are now required to have up to $2 million in liability coverage under a new law that took effect Oct. 1. The White-Miskell Act regulates the state’s estimated 100 commercial parasailing...
West Virginia Begins Registering Storage Tanks
Oct 3 2014 // State environmental officials had tallied more than 46,400 aboveground storage tanks as Wednesday’s deadline to register them approached. Despite the deadline, the Department of Environmental Protection expects to...
Nebraska High Court: Federal Risk Retention Act Preempts State Law
Oct 2 2014 // The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled recently that a district court erred when it found that a federal law did not preempt the state’s prohibition against mandatory arbitration clauses in insurance contract. In Speece v....
Federal Judge in Oklahoma Rules Against Health Insurance Subsidies
Oct 2 2014 // Some of the health-insurance subsidies being offered under the Affordable Care Act represent an “abuse of discretion” by the federal government, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled on Sept. 30, marking another...
N.J. Red-Light Cameras Lose Support as Drivers Gripe Over Robotics, Glitches
Oct 2 2014 // New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is leaning toward eliminating red-light cameras after a five-year test was fraught with glitches and gripes, even as data showed fewer crashes at intersections with the equipment. A pilot...
Boston Emerging as Unlikely Battleground for Web-Based Businesses
Oct 1 2014 // A renowned technology hub that is home to some of the country’s top universities, Boston is emerging as an unlikely battleground for web-based businesses like Airbnb and Uber, with some saying more regulations are...
Marijuana Insurance Industry: How High Can It Go?
Oct 1 2014 // Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles on the the marijuana insurance industry to appear on InsuranceJournal.com. Upcoming stories will include reports on how medical marijuana could affect the...
Interview: D&O Cyber Liability, Cyber Risks Top Lawyers’ Agenda
Oct 1 2014 // Jeff Kingsley, a partner with the law firm of Goldberg and Segalla, specializes in technology risks, notably cyber liability and cyber risk, an emerging sector with many variables and pit falls for the unwary, which he...
Federal Judge Won’t Block Fracking In Nevada
Sep 29 2014 // A federal judge has refused to block the release of oil and gas leases in Nevada that critics say will be used for hydraulic fracturing that could harm sage grouse and cause more environmental damage than the Bureau of...
New Mexico Judge refuses to stop Uber, Lyft
Sep 29 2014 // A state judge has denied a request by New Mexico taxi cab and limousine companies for a temporary restraining order against the ridesharing services Lyft and Uber. District Court Judge Nancy Franchini wrote in her order...
Lawmakers Question the Adequacy of Traffic Control After Fire Halts Flights
Sep 29 2014 // The havoc created by a suicidal technician at a Chicago-area flight-control center has some lawmakers asking how a single person armed with gasoline and knives could bring down part of the U.S. air-traffic system. Damage...
U.S. Hospitals Face Risks in Ebola Virus Waste Disposal
Sep 29 2014 // U.S. hospitals may be unprepared to safely dispose of the infectious waste generated by any Ebola virus disease patient to arrive unannounced in the country, potentially putting the wider community at risk, biosafety...
Analysis: Health Insurance, Other Issues Put Pressure on Louisiana Governor
Sep 28 2014 // Gov. Bobby Jindal has been viewed as a health care policy wonk, and he’s tried to build on that image ahead of a likely 2016 presidential campaign, positioning himself as the candidate with substantive ideas. But his...
Oklahoma Legislature Urged to Boost Nursing Home Staffing Rules
Sep 26 2014 // A Seminole woman pleaded with Oklahoma state lawmakers recently to “demand changes in the staffing and other requirements of our state’s long-term care facilities.” “We tried to do precisely that...
PCI Lobbyist Brown to Join Florida Law Firm Colodny, Fass
Sep 25 2014 // Attorney G. Donovan Brown, Southeast state government relations counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), is joining the well-connected Tallahassee law firm of Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld,...
Complex Energy Industry Requires ‘Power’ Underwriters
Sep 25 2014 // The energy industry is not a risk for every underwriter; it requires considerable underwriting expertise due to its complexity and rapid growth. “Power is one of the fastest growing segments in the U.S,”...
New York Requires State Agencies to Consider Extreme Weather
Sep 24 2014 // New York state agencies are required to consider the future likelihood of extreme weather in their decisions on public works projects, industrial and commercial permits and regulations, according to a new law signed...
Lawsuit Against Vail Resorts Allowed by Colorado Judge
Sep 24 2014 // Vail Resorts could be required to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to the family of a teenager who died in an avalanche while skiing in Colorado January 2012. Broomfield County District Court Judge Chris...
Administration Relaxes Food Safety Rules for Farmers
Sep 24 2014 // The Food and Drug Administration has revised sweeping food safety rules proposed last year after farmers complained that the regulations could hurt business. The new proposals would relax water quality standards and allow...
Judge Keeps Alabama Newspaper from Publishing Utility’s Safety Plan
Sep 23 2014 // A state court judge sided with Alabama Gas Corp. and blocked the Montgomery Advertiser from publishing information about the utility’s plan for gas line safety, which the Alabama Public Service Commission released...
