Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
South Florida Not Receptive to Citizens’ Rate Hike Plans
Jul 18 2012 // Executives and the board of governors of Florida’s largest state-back property insurer received a rude reception at a public rate hearing in Miami where they indicated they will consider increasing rates on existing...
Geneva Association Survey Targets ‘Inappropriate Regulation,’ Economic Crisis
Jul 18 2012 // A bulletin from the insurance think tank The Geneva Association notes that “leaders of the insurance industry have significant concerns about the effects of inappropriate regulation and the effects of the current...
Hawaii Enacts 4 New Laws To Curb Cybercrimes
Jul 17 2012 // Four new Hawaii laws are aimed at curbing cybercrimes. Gov. Neil Abercrombie recently signed bills to combat cyberbullying, to prohibit adults from soliciting minors to electronically transmit nude images of minors and to...
Yes, Of Course We Do Need a National Catastrophe Solution
Jul 16 2012 // The National Conference of Insurance Legislators has a tendency to be a very deliberative and, yes, dilatory, body. During the meeting of its Property and Casualty Insurance Committee last Friday in Burlington, Vermont...
In Massachusetts Senate Race, Health Care Still Hot Topic
Jul 16 2012 // In Massachusetts’ contentious U.S. Senate race, few issues divide the two candidates more sharply than the health care law signed by President Barack Obama and upheld by the Supreme Court. Republican Scott Brown ran...
New Law on BP Oil Spill Promises States More in Restoration Monies
Jul 16 2012 // U.S. Gulf Coast states have a higher stake in the amount of money the U.S. government can wring out of BP Plc for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill due to a new law that would divert billions of dollars in potential BP...
EU under Pressure to Delay Solvency II Insurer Capital Rules
Jul 16 2012 // The European Union may be forced to put back the January 2014 start date for its Solvency II capital regime for insurers after talks to agree a final draft of the strict new rules collapsed, Europe’s top insurance...
Health Care on Agenda When Michigan Lawmakers Return
Jul 16 2012 // Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and his fellow Republicans could find themselves knee-deep in health care issues soon when lawmakers briefly return after a five-week break. Snyder needs to get reluctant House Republicans on...
Under New Law, Penn. Dentists Now Required to Buy Liability Insurance
Jul 13 2012 // Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law late last month Senate Bill 388 that mandates all dentists in the state to purchase professional liability insurance.Under new law, Pennsylvania dentists are now required to...
North Carolina Resolves Media Concerns Over Workers’ Comp Data
Jul 13 2012 // North Carolina officials have found a way to resolve media groups’ concern over public access to some employers’ workers’ compensation information while maintaining the confidentiality of other...
Thompson Honored with Insurance Council of Texas’ Raymond Mauk Award
Jul 13 2012 // Jay Thompson, a partner with the law firm of Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons, has been named the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award honoree by the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT). The award was presented on July 12 at the...
Texas Judge Rules Atmosphere, Air Is Public Trust
Jul 13 2012 // A Texas judge has ruled that the atmosphere and air must be protected for public use, just like water, which could help attorneys tasked with arguing climate change lawsuits designed to force states to cut emissions. The...
Judge Dismisses Suit Over Arrest In Arkansas
Jul 12 2012 // A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Springdale filed by the former mayor of an Oklahoma town. The Springdale Morning News reported that U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren dismissed the suit Monday. The...
PFGBest Broker Scandal Leads to Calls for Insurance for Grain Trade
Jul 12 2012 // The largest U.S. grain trade group was stunned by the latest scandal to hit the futures industry when Iowa-based brokerage PFGBest collapsed after regulators accused the firm of misappropriating customer funds. “Even...
House Panel Balks at Senate Crop Insurance Reforms
Jul 12 2012 // The U.S. House Agriculture Committee challenged two crop insurance reforms approved by the Senate, creating another farm-bill dispute with time running out to enact the new law. Besides disagreeing on crop insurance, the...
Russian Lawmakers Ratify WTO Entry
Jul 11 2012 // Russian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to ratify accession to the World Trade Organization, bringing the world’s largest country into the club that sets global trade rules after a tortuous 18-year negotiating...
Black Lung Protections for Miners Failing; Cases Continue to Rise
Jul 11 2012 // Black lung diagnoses have doubled in the last decade, and a new investigation blames a combination of factors, including operators who cheat the system and lax enforcement by regulators. Experts have warned of the...
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Promotes Causey, Browning
Jul 11 2012 // Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney announced the promotions of two members of Mississippi Insurance Department personnel to key senior staff positions. Kimberly Gilmer Causey has been promoted to the...
With Supreme Court Ruling In, Employers Turn to Healthcare Law’s Requirements: Mercer
Jul 10 2012 // The majority of employers in a recent survey said they had been waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision before developing a strategy to respond to the law’s provisions slated to go into effect in 2014 and...
US Lawmaker Asks Tuvalu to Stop Reflagging Iran Oil Tankers
Jul 10 2012 // A prominent U.S. lawmaker has asked the small South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu to stop reflagging Iranian oil tankers and warned its government of the risks of running afoul of U.S. sanctions. The European Union...
