Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Senate to Take Up Chemical Safety Bill After West Virginia Spill
Feb 6 2014 // U.S. senators said they will take up a bill as soon as this week to require inspections and clean-up plans for chemical storage tanks, over the objection of industry, after a West Virginia spill tainted drinking...
State v. Federal Regulation Debate a ‘Relic,’ Says FIO Chief McRaith
Feb 6 2014 // The state versus federal oversight discussion is a “binary debate” that is a relic of a bygone era, the director of the Federal Insurance Office told lawmakers at a Congressional hearing Tuesday. FIO Director...
A.M. Best Europe Obtains ECAI Status under New EU Regulations
Feb 6 2014 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited (AMBERS) has confirmed that it has obtained External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) status under new European Union (EU) regulations, which came into force in January...
Lobbyist Gives Update on Insurance-Related Bills
Feb 5 2014 // There are a number of bills currently under consideration by state Legislature that may be of interest to agents, brokers and insurance professionals in general. Lobbyist John Norwood, owner of Norwood Associates in...
PCI Bolsters Washington Operations with 3 Hires: Glassic, Austin, Gray
Feb 5 2014 // The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI)said it has added three new hires. Tom Glassic will join the association as vice president, policy and government relations; Nicole Austin will join the...
UPenn Legal Scholar: FIO Report Is ‘Cautiously Sensible’
Feb 5 2014 // The Federal Insurance Office (FIO)’s recent report on how to improve and modernize insurance regulation has received a range of reactions since its publication in December. Recently a business law scholar at the...
Court Denies AIG Ex-CEO Greenberg Bid to Remove Judge From New York AG Case
Feb 5 2014 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, the former chairman of American International Group Inc., lost his bid to remove a judge from a lawsuit brought in 2005 by the New York state attorney general accusing him of...
Georgia Lawmakers Eye Regulations for Drones
Feb 5 2014 // Georgia would take the first steps to regulating the use of drones through legislation under consideration in the General Assembly. Rep. Harry Geisinger, R-Roswell, has sponsored a bill that would provide for the lawful...
Senate Joins House in Passing Farm, Crop Insurance Bill; President Says He Will Sign
Feb 4 2014 // The Senate passed and sent to President Barack Obama a measure that sets U.S. agricultural policy for five years, ending the toughest legislative battle on renewal of the farm bill in almost two decades with cuts to crop...
Kansas Insurance Department Seeking to Raise Insurer Fees
Feb 4 2014 // The Kansas Insurance Department is asking the Legislature for permission to raise fees paid by insurance companies because the state has diverted millions of dollars from its regulatory fund for other purposes. Zachary...
Keep Away from Small Farms, Lawmakers Tell Safety Agency OSHA
Feb 4 2014 // Small farms have been off-limits to the federal agency that oversees workplace safety for decades. But lawmakers in North Dakota and other states have grown sufficiently concerned that they’re warning the Obama...
Judge Dismisses Kmart’s Mississippi Flood Damage Suit Against Kroger
Feb 4 2014 // A federal judge has dismissed Kmart Corp.’s lawsuit over flood damage to one of its stores in Corinth. U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson ruled that Kmart has insufficient evidence to support its arguments that the...
Farm Bill Keeps Lawmakers’ Own Crop Insurance Payouts Secret
Feb 4 2014 // Crop insurers successfully lobbied to keep several proposals out of the farm bill set to pass the U.S. Congress today — such as a requirement that would have forced farmer-lawmakers to disclose benefits they...
In Florida, Neighbor’s Backyard Could Be a Shooting Range
Feb 4 2014 // Near the National Key Deer Refuge in Florida’s Lower Keys, on a sleepy street called Mango Lane, retired sheriff’s deputy Huey Gordon checked the waterway behind neighbor Doug Varrieur’s home for boat...
Judge Asked to Rule on Who Will Pay Defense Costs in N.D. Spud Suit
Feb 3 2014 // The two sides in a lawsuit filed by a prominent North Dakota businessman against his insurance company over defense costs in an alleged potato price fixing scheme are asking a judge to rule without the case going to...
Missouri Cancer Patients Seek Insurance Coverage for Chemo Pills
Feb 3 2014 // JoAnn Shaw was first diagnosed with cancer at age 19. Then again at 25. And 37. And 53. Each time, she was treated with intravenous chemotherapy. Today, she wears a wig, talks with a raspy voice and is in danger of losing...
Senate Clears Farm, Crop Insurance Bill for Final Vote
Feb 3 2014 // Long-delayed farm legislation easily cleared a procedural hurdle on Monday in the U.S. Senate, with final passage of the nearly $1 trillion bill expected as early as Tuesday. The House of Representatives last week...
Private Flood Insurance Provider Steps Into Connecticut Market
Feb 3 2014 // A private flood insurance provider has stepped into Connecticut’s market, the first time homeowners along the shoreline battered by Superstorm Sandy have an alternative to increasingly costly federal insurance. The...
Texas Fertilizer Explosion on List of Texas Lawmaker Priorities
Feb 2 2014 // The West fertilizer blast that killed 15 people will face more scrutiny over the next year from Texas lawmakers who could strengthen state regulations surrounding chemical facility safety and inspections, according to a...
Oregon Judge Lops Big Chunk off $18.6M Jury Award
Feb 1 2014 // An Oregon woman who won nearly $19 million in a lawsuit against Equifax over credit reporting mistakes saw the jury award cut to less than $2 million last week by a federal judge in Portland. Judge Anna J. Brown reduced...
