Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Rathgeber Appointed Texas Insurance Commissioner as Kitzman Exits
May 29 2013 // On the same day that Eleanor Kitzman exited her post as state insurance commissioner, Texas Gov. Rick Perry appointed Julia Rathgeber of Austin to take over leadership at the Texas Department of Insurance. Kitzman,...
Tiny Southern California Agency Earns B Corp Status
May 28 2013 // Merely bringing your A-game may not be enough to entice certain companies to give you their business, especially those who are looking for environmentally or socially conscious partners. Following the challenging recession...
Judge Allows Mississippi Liability Suit Over Underage Drinker to Proceed
May 28 2013 // A federal judge won’t dismiss a lawsuit that argues the city of West Point, Mississippi and a local nightclub are liable for injuries to an underage driver, who authorities say was driving while intoxicated after...
Insurers and Climate Change: The Truth is More Complicated than the Sound Bytes
May 24 2013 // As an insurance guy who has been on both sides of the climate change debate (I’ve worked for organizations full of climate change skeptics and now head one that believes it’s an important public policy issue)...
No New Federal Funds Needed for Oklahoma Tornado Recovery
May 24 2013 // Top U.S. lawmakers and officials said that the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the wake of the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma. The government has more than $11...
Judge Recuses Herself from West Virginia University Degree Lawsuit
May 24 2013 // U.S. District Judge Irene Keeley has disqualified herself from hearing a lawsuit filed over a 6-year-old degree scandal at West Virginia University, citing a federal statute that requires judges to step aside if their...
EU Lawmakers Back French Demands to Limit U.S. Trade Talks
May 24 2013 // European Union lawmakers voted on Thursday to limit the scope of a proposed free-trade deal between Europe and the United States, backing French demands to leave out culture and potentially irritating Washington. The...
Illinois Lawmakers Seek Disaster Declaration in 16 Counties
May 23 2013 // Illinois’ congressional delegation has asked President Obama to add 16 Illinois counties to the list of those eligible to receive disaster aid after last month’s flooding. The letter was sent to support a...
Insurers, Banks Leveraging Trade Talks to Change Dodd-Frank
May 23 2013 // U.S. bankers and insurers are trying to use trade deals, which can trump existing legislation, to weaken parts of the Dodd-Frank Act designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis. While the companies say they...
Michigan Democrats Lay Out Auto Insurance Bills
May 22 2013 // Detroit’s Democratic state House Caucus is laying out an effort to change Michigan’s auto insurance policies. The package of legislation was revealed during a news conference in Detroit. Republicans control the...
Connecticut Court Rules That Lawyers Can’t Be Sued for Fraud
May 21 2013 // The state Supreme Court has ruled in an ex-NFL player’s case that Connecticut lawyers can’t be sued for fraud for their conduct in court cases because of a centuries-old legal doctrine. The court’s 5-1...
Insurer Group Mostly Happy with Missouri Legislative Session
May 21 2013 // The Missouri General Assembly made big strides this year towards modernizing how policyholders can access information associated with their insurance policy, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of...
Bill Ensures Paid Family Leave For California Workers
May 21 2013 // California businesses would be prohibited from firing or retaliating against employees who take advantage of the state’s paid family leave program under a job-protection bill moving through the Legislature. The...
D.C. Lobbyist Gannon to Head Federal Affairs for Farmers Insurance
May 20 2013 // Washington, D.C. lobbyist Matt Gannon was named head of federal affairs at Farmers Insurance. Gannon replaces Mike Moran, who left Los Angeles, Calif.-based Farmers to take a position with Zurich North America as assistant...
Texas, Oklahoma Battle Opioids With Legislation
May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp In the South Central region, Texas and Oklahoma are two states...
New York, Pennsylvania Rank High for Opioids Among Injured Workers
May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp The epidemic of opioid abuse and its impact on workers’...
Motorcycle Group Holds Power in Wisconsin Helmet Debate
May 20 2013 // Wisconsin is coming off its deadliest year for motorcyclists in a generation, but lawmakers are considering no new helmet laws. Three in four of those riders who were killed did not wear a helmet. But Wisconsin...
House Pushes for More Economic Analysis of Securities Rules
May 20 2013 // A divided U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a Republican-sponsored bill that would force federal securities regulators to conduct more economic analysis before adopting rules for Wall Street. The bill, which...
New Lawsuit Filed Against West Virginia University in Degree Scandal
May 20 2013 // Two former business school deans caught up in a master’s degree scandal six years ago are suing West Virginia University again, arguing the school has ignored its obligation to repair their tarnished...
The Time is Now for Agent Licensing Reform
May 20 2013 // Excitement is building for critical legislation, the “National Association of Registered Agents & Brokers (NARAB II) Reform Act.” The Independent Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”)...
