Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
House May Split Food Stamps from Rest of Farm Bill
Jul 10 2013 // U.S. House leaders have decided to split food stamps and other nutrition programs from farm subsidies and bring an agriculture-only bill up for a vote before the August recess, a Republican leadership aide said. Such a...
Pennsylvania Insurance Department Gets Dedicated Funding Structure
Jul 9 2013 // The Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced this week that it now has access to a dedicated funding source, thanks to Gov. Tom Corbett’s recently signed 2013-14 budget and newly enacted legislation, Act 46. This...
U.S. EU Launch Free Trade Talks Despite Spying Concerns
Jul 9 2013 // The United States and the European Union began talks on Monday on a landmark bilateral free trade agreement, despite European concerns about U.S. spying that had threatened to delay the start after nearly two years of...
Judges Question BP Over Its Objections to Oil Spill Claims Payouts
Jul 9 2013 // BP Plc drew tough questions on Monday from U.S. appeals court judges hearing a complaint by the oil company objecting to the payment of certain claims for damages related to the Gulf of Mexico spill, casting doubt on...
Coastal Lawmakers Seek Delays in Flood Insurance Changes, Rate Hikes
Jul 8 2013 // Just a year after Congress imposed significant changes in the government’s oft-criticized flood insurance program, howls of protest from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays...
Insurers’ Group Urges R.I. Governor to Veto Auto Body Legislation
Jul 8 2013 // The Rhode Island Legislature passed legislation before adjournment on July 3 that could impact the pockets of Rhode Islanders when they have to pay for auto body repairs, according to the Property Casualty Insurers...
Governor Vetoes Missouri Workers’ Comp Database Bill
Jul 8 2013 // Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon pointed to privacy concerns in vetoing a proposed online database that businesses could use to check a prospective employee’s workers’ compensation claims. Nixon said in a message...
New Jersey Court Rules Against Homeowners in Dune Dispute
Jul 8 2013 // A New Jersey town can present evidence of the benefits of building dunes as storm barriers when homeowners with beachfront properties seek compensation for losing their ocean views, the state’s highest court...
Prudential Will Appeal SIFI Designation; AIG, GE Will Not
Jul 3 2013 // Prudential Financial Inc., the No. 2 U.S. life insurer, is contesting a U.S. finding that it poses a potential risk to the financial system, becoming the first company to challenge the label that brings additional...
Insurers, State Regulators Try to Block Bank-Like Rules by Federal Reserve
Jul 3 2013 // MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc. have been joined by state regulators challenging the Federal Reserve on how to oversee the biggest insurers under the Dodd-Frank law. The insurers and watchdogs are pressuring the...
China-Style Eldercare: Kids Can Be Sued For Not Visiting Parents
Jul 3 2013 // What are elderly parents to do when their children no longer bother to visit? In China, there’s a new answer: sue the kids. That’s what 77-year-old “Granny Chu,” of Wuxi, China, did in April. On...
Lien Fees Working Out in California Workers’ Comp
Jul 2 2013 // Jason Molnar makes a living deep in the trenches of workers’ compensation battles in California, so you’d think when there was a no show from an opponent at an official lien hearing that he’d be relieved...
Drugmakers Work on Safer Painkillers as Opioid Abuse Epidemic Rages
Jul 2 2013 // Backed by a U.S. campaign to slow abuse of prescription painkillers, drugmakers are devising new forms of the medicines that don’t lead to misuse and new products that treat dependency in a bid to change the face of...
San Francisco Bay Area Car Rental Startup Faces Lawsuit
Jul 1 2013 // Out of a tiny, green shack on a parking lot in an industrial area south of San Francisco International Airport, three teenagers are trying to change the airport car rental business. To do it, all they need are your cars,...
Oklahoma Lawmakers Seek to Increase Looting Penalties
Jul 1 2013 // Reports of dozens of arrests of suspected looters in tornado-ravaged areas of central Oklahoma prompted several legislators to call for increasing the penalty for taking items from victims of natural disasters. Moore...
Report Recommends Changes at South Dakota Division of Insurance
Jun 30 2013 // A department secretary’s report on the South Dakota Division of Insurance is recommending increased oversight from supervisors and the secretary, better staff communication and a new informal settlement process,...
Florida Extends Fast-Track Policy Form Approval Until Year-End
Jun 28 2013 // Florida regulators, citing a backlog in property/casualty form filings and the need to train new staff, have extended a fast-track approval process for personal lines forms until the end of the year. Florida Insurance...
Agency Investigating Plant Blast Finds Lax Chemical Regulation
Jun 28 2013 // A federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant will tell a Senate committee that regulation of the dangerous chemicals used in the industry fall under a “patchwork” of standards...
Hobby Lobby Wins Round in Fight Against Contraceptive Coverage
Jun 28 2013 // Arts and crafts chain Hobby Lobby may be entitled to an exemption from a requirement in President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare overhaul to include free contraception coverage in its employee health insurance plans,...
Florida’s Citizens Seeks 6.6% Home Rate Hike; Cap on Sinkhole Rates in High-Risk Areas
Jun 27 2013 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer requested a statewide average 6.6 percent increase in homeowners’ rates along with a cap on sinkhole rate increases in three high-risk counties at between 20 percent and...
