Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Rhode Island Judge Asked to OK Club Fire Settlement Plan
Feb 10 2009 // Lawyers for the survivors and relatives of the 100 people killed in a nightclub fire almost six years ago asked a judge Friday to approve a formula to distribute proceeds from a $176 million settlement. The lawyers said in...
Judge Awards $1.4M to Lawyers in Taser Lawsuit
Feb 9 2009 // A federal judge has ordered Taser International to pay $1.4 million to lawyers for the family of a Salinas, Calif., man who died after police officers repeatedly shocked him with stun guns. U.S. District Court Judge James...
Change and Protect
Feb 8 2009 // Change is coming to Washington and to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, but hopefully it’s change that will protect the status quo when it comes to insurance regulation. Last spring, the editors at...
U.S. Lawmakers Vow More Food Safety Funds As Peanut Recalls Set Record
Feb 6 2009 // Lawmakers vowed this week to press for stronger food safety laws and more money for inspections as the list of recalled peanut products surpassed 1,000 in an ongoing national salmonella outbreak. “There is an...
Missouri Transportation Chief Pushes for Tougher Seat Belt Law
Feb 6 2009 // It’s failed repeatedly in the past, but state Transportation Director Pete Rahn is optimistic that a bill stepping up Missouri’s seat belt enforcement may pass this year. Rahn wants lawmakers to allow police to...
New York Proposes Compensation Disclosure Rules for Agents
Feb 6 2009 // Despite earning praise from major insurance brokerages, a proposed new regimen of compensation disclosure rules for insurance producers has New York agents on edge. The draft regulations issued earlier this week include...
Florida Lawmakers Question State Farm on Why It’s Leaving
Feb 5 2009 // State Farm Florida has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the state in the last decade and risks insolvency if it continues writing property insurance here, company executives told a legislative committee this...
North Dakota Bills Respond to Firings of Workers Compensation Whistleblowers
Feb 5 2009 // The dismissals of four employees who questioned how North Dakota’s workers compensation agency was being run showed a state law intended to guard against such firings is almost useless, a state senator believes. Sen....
Michigan Auto Insurance System, Costs, Insurers Under Fire
Feb 5 2009 // Michigan’s insurance consumer advocate is charging that drivers are paying a high cost for years of state deregulation of insurance and record insurance company profits. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has threatened...
Insurance Industry Blasts Granholm’s Call for Rate Freeze, Advocate’s Report
Feb 5 2009 // The insurance industry is not taking the recent attacks by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state consumer advocate lightly. Insurance trade groups have come out swinging against Granholm’s call for a freeze...
Steamship Mutual Releases <em>‘Collision Course’ </em>DVD
Feb 4 2009 // Steamship Mutual, a leading International Group P&I Club, which provides marine liability insurance worldwide, has released its latest loss prevention DVD called “COLLISION COURSE”, an informative film...
Texas Governor Calls for Reform of Texas Wind Pool Funding
Feb 4 2009 // Three of the five emergency items that Texas Gov. Rick Perry has outlined for the 2009 legislative session relate to hurricane recovery, including legislation to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) and...
Wyoming Introduces Workers’ Comp Legislation
Feb 3 2009 // Legislation has been introduced in the Wyoming House that could hold oil and gas operators liable for their own negligence resulting in injuries and fatalities on their job sites in the state. House Bill 273, introduced by...
Texas Lawmaker Proposes Tax Caps for Commercial Property
Feb 3 2009 // Texas State Representative Bill Callegari (Katy) has filed two measures to cap increases in property tax appraisals for commercial property. The bills, HB 979 and HJR 49, limit annual appraisal increases for commercial...
Best’s Solvency II Analysis Concludes Financial Crisis Impacts Insurers
Feb 2 2009 // A report from A.M. Best examines the latest twists and turns of the European Union’s much discussed (and long delayed) implementation of the Solvency II regulations. Best notes that the “current turmoil in the...
Florida High Court Rules Police Can Be Sued Over Safety Checks
Feb 2 2009 // A sharply divided Florida Supreme Court says law enforcement agencies can be sued over “safety checks” that go bad. The justices ruled 4-3 in the case of an elderly woman who later died after Marion County...
New York Agents’ Group Wants Streamlined Agent-Licensing Procedure
Feb 2 2009 // A trade group for New York insurance agents says it’s working with the state’s insurance department to develop a new system for licensing agents. The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York,...
Arkansas Lawmaker Again Pushing Mandatory Seat Belt Law
Feb 2 2009 // The lead sponsor of legislation that would allow officers in Arkansas to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts says he’ll also call on police agencies to collect data on the race of motorists they stop for the...
Iowa Legislature Sends Governor $56 Million Flood Relief Plan
Jan 30 2009 // The Iowa Senate has sent Gov. Chet Culver a $56 million flood recovery package. Backers said the measure marked the first of a series of measures lawmakers will approve to respond to last summer’s natural...
Order in the Classroom: Indiana Teachers Seek Some Immunity
Jan 30 2009 // Morgan County teacher Angela Williams tries to maintain order in her special education classroom by keeping students from talking out or leaving their seats without permission. But she said she often hears a disturbing...
