Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Judge Dismisses Ex-Broker’s Privacy Claim Against Regulatory Website

Jul 10 2014 // A U.S. judge threw out a lawsuit against the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) by a former broker who alleged that disclosures on the regulator’s public database violated his privacy rights. The former...

‘Drafting Error’ Leads to Veto of Missouri Health Insurance Navigator Bill

Jul 9 2014 // Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation that would have limited who could work in the state as a health insurance guide and blamed a national conservative group for injecting an error into the model legislation. The...

Court Ruling States Arizona Can’t Deny Immigrants Driver’s Licenses

Jul 8 2014 // Arizona’s policy of denying driver’s licenses to people who came to the U.S. illegally as children was blocked by a federal appeals court in San Francisco, which said the measure is probably...

Why Conservatives’ Climate Policy Won’t Work: Flavelle

Jul 8 2014 // There’s a lot to like about Eli Lehrer’s argument for National Review that conservatives should stop downplaying global warming and instead try to take advantage of it. But beyond demonstrating the promise of...

Judge Approves NFL Concussion Settlement

Jul 8 2014 // The National Football League won preliminary approval of a settlement worth at least $675 million resolving ex-players’ claims that officials failed to warn them about links between concussions and brain...

Swiss Re’s New SONAR Report Investigates 26 Emerging Risks

Jul 8 2014 // Swiss Re has released a report, “New emerging risk insights,” which is based on the reinsurer’s SONAR process, described as a “unique tool which uses Swiss Re’s internal risk management...

South Dakota Lawmakers Seek Federal Help for Flooding and Tornado

Jul 7 2014 // South Dakota’s three members of Congress have asked President Barack Obama to declare a major disaster for three counties hit last month by a tornado and flooding. In a letter to the president, Rep. Kristi Noem and...

Judge OKs Florida $2.2M Wrongful Death Award Against Sheriff

Jul 7 2014 // A federal judge has upheld a jury’s $2.26 million wrongful death award against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in a case where two deputies shot and repeatedly shocked a suspect. The Ocala Star-Banner...

Michigan Bill Limiting Lawsuits Against Insurers Sent to Governor

Jul 7 2014 // A bill approved by Michigan Legislature that further limits certain consumer lawsuits against insurance companies under the state’s Consumer Protection Act has been sent to Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature. The...

Uber, Lyft, Sidecar Toe-to-Toe With Insurers State-by-State

Jul 7 2014 // The share-and-share-alike attitude considered a virtue by some has become fighting words between ridesharing companies and the insurance industry. “We try not to make it a battle,” says Robert Passmore, senior...

Disaster Mitigation: How Incentives Can Help

Jul 7 2014 // The frequency and cost of natural disasters in the United States has increased exponentially in the past two decades. The cost to property, life and the economy is pushing the issue to the top-of-minds for many in...

Climate Change Bottom-Line Talk Grows, S&P Director Says

Jul 7 2014 // Companies and governments worldwide are changing their behaviors and examining their risks in the face of climate change, a managing director for Standard & Poor’s said, holding up the insurance industry as a...

Hidden Perils of California’s Proposed Health Insurance Price Controls

Jul 7 2014 // In November, California voters will decide whether to implement state government price controls on health insurance. Insurance agents and brokers are certain to be asked by their clients whether this ballot measure merits...

Judges Order Ridesharing Firms Uber, Lyft to Halt Operations in Pittsburgh

Jul 3 2014 // Two administrative law judges have agreed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to force two ride-share companies to stop operating in Pittsburgh. The judges issued their rulings Tuesday, five days after PUC...

Litigation Financing Firm Exits Tennessee As New Law Goes Into Effect

Jul 3 2014 // A litigation funding firm said it is leaving Tennessee as the state now requires firms like his to register and regulates their business of loaning money to consumers bringing lawsuits. Illinois-based Oasis Legal Finance,...

Export-Import Bank Could Be Reformed Rather Than Closed

Jul 2 2014 // The U.S. Export-Import Bank, derided by conservative critics as an expensive boondoggle, may win a reprieve from what looked like almost certain death in Congress if enough Republicans can be persuaded to let it live on,...

Cybersecurity Analysts Stress Need for Data Sharing by Companies

Jul 2 2014 // In an 11-story office building in the Washington suburbs, hundreds of U.S. cybersecurity analysts work around the clock to foil hackers. Possible breaches of government networks show up as red flashes on screens that line...

Overselling the Costs, Benefits of Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Jul 1 2014 // The Environmental Protection Agency calls its carbon rules an economic winner that will deliver more than $10 in benefits for each dollar spent on compliance. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the economic costs of...

Mass. Senate OKs Bill Tying Required Flood Coverage Amount to Mortgage Balance

Jun 30 2014 // The Massachusetts state Senate on June 26 passed legislation filed by the state’s attorney general, Martha Coakley, and state House Speaker Robert DeLeo aimed at softening the impact of flood insurance rate...

Small Commercial Trucks in Kansas Exempt from Most Safety Rules

Jun 30 2014 // Starting July 1, Kansas is granting a yearlong exemption to small commercial trucks from most of the safety regulations it imposes upon larger haulers, despite the misgivings of some officials. The Topeka Capital Journal...