Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Administration Debating Powers of Proposed Systemic Risk Regulator
May 28 2009 // The Obama administration is weighing if a new systemic risk regulator should have the power to conduct on-site examinations of banks, broker-dealers and other market players suspected of posing a threat to the U.S....
EU Unveils Reforms to Make Financial Markets Safer – Insurance Included
May 27 2009 // Banks will be more closely scrutinized under European Union plans unveiled on Wednesday to apply lessons from the credit crunch and better protect investors shaken by the worst financial crisis in decades. The European...
Texas Legislation Big and Small in Peril
May 27 2009 // A work slowdown by House Democrats was meant to stop a voter identification law. But other bills in the path of destruction deal with hurricane insurance, local road projects, solar energy incentives and even trans fats in...
Logjam in Texas House Threatens Windstorm Bill, Other Legislation
May 26 2009 // Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives have been using stalling tactics to avoid a vote on a controversial Voter ID bill widely supported by Republicans. The only problem is, other measures, including a...
National Insurance Producer Licensing Bill Reintroduced in Congress
May 22 2009 // Federal legislation designed to streamline licensing for insurance agents and brokers operating in multiple states has been reintroduced in Congress. The legislation (HR 2554), the National Association of Registered Agents...
Surplus Lines Regulation Reform Legislation Reintroduced in Congress
May 22 2009 // Legislation aimed at making access to the surplus lines market more efficient and help standardize state insurance regulation has been introduced again in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reps. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., and...
Oklahoma Gov. Signs Comprehensive Tort Reform Legislation
May 22 2009 // After years of wrangling between Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Oklahoma over lawsuit reforms in the state, Gov. Brad Henry has signed into law tort reform legislation aimed at curbing frivolous lawsuits and...
Obama Curtails Bush-Era Federal Preemption of States By Regulation
May 22 2009 // The Obama White House this week undid a Bush administration policy that used federal regulations to undermine various state health, safety and environmental laws. Many of the federal regulations limited the ability of...
Oklahoma Senate Approves Workers’ Compensation Judge Plan
May 21 2009 // Republicans have pushed another issue to a statewide vote to counter a gubernatorial veto – this time a plan to require Senate confirmation of Workers’ Compensation Court judges. The Oklahoma Senate gave final...
Missouri DOT Urges Governor to Veto Repeal of Motorcycle Helmet Law
May 21 2009 // Missouri Transportation Director Pete Rahn says legislation repealing the state’s motorcycle helmet law for adults “makes no sense” and that Gov. Jay Nixon should veto it. Lawmakers during their annual...
U.S. Financial Product Safety Commission Proposal Still on Table
May 20 2009 // The Obama administration is studying a long-discussed proposal to create a U.S. agency that would protect consumers who buy financial products, possibly as part of a major package of reforms, congressional aides said on...
Litigation Expected on Minnesota Insurance Bill as Session Ends
May 20 2009 // The 2009 Minnesota legislative session has wrapped up with lawmakers taking action on a number of insurance bills. One in particular has insurer trade groups questioning whether litigation will follow after the measure...
Fitch Advises Florida Insurance Market Remains ‘Fragile’
May 20 2009 // Fitch Ratings agency is advising that the Florida property insurance market is “fragile” and remains a “peak risk zone.” The Florida assessment is included in a Fitch report for investors right...
Oklahoma House Passes Workers’ Comp Judge Resolution
May 20 2009 // A resolution that would ask voters to require Senate confirmation of Oklahoma Worker’s Compensation Court judges has passed the Oklahoma House less than a month after Gov. Brad Henry vetoed similar legislation. The...
Reinvention in Insurance: Is it Possible?
May 18 2009 // Despite what you may think, the insurance industry has not changed much in the past century. The insurance industry was regulated in 1945 with the passage of the McCarran-Ferguson Act that allows insurance to be regulated...
Home Defect Bill Divides Nevada Lawmakers
May 18 2009 // Nevada senators and sssembly members are battling over a construction defect bill that has turned into one of the most contentious issues of the 2009 Nevada Legislature, now in its final weeks. Senators voted 19-1 in...
P/C Insurance Agents Battle Public Health Care Reform Option
May 18 2009 // Lobbyists for property/casualty insurance agents have elevated health care reform to the top of their political agenda. P/C agents have addressed health insurance legislation in the past but the issue has taken on new...
No Resolution on Credit Scores
May 18 2009 // The use of credit scores by insurance companies in rating methodologies continues to be unresolved in several Midwest states, as evidenced by ongoing court battles and legislative actions aimed at tweaking existing...
Indiana Lawmakers Eliminate Policy Re-rate Mandate
May 18 2009 // The Indiana General Assembly has removed a provision in Indiana law requiring insurance companies to re-rate an insurance policy at least once every three years based on current credit information. The decision to re-run...
Florida Restores Cap on Workers’ Compensation Attorneys’ Fees
May 18 2009 // Florida has passed legislation to restore a cap on attorneys’ fees in workers’ compensation cases, a measure backed by the state’s insurance regulator. The bill (HB 903) effectively overturns a Florida...
