Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Democrats Press Labor Department on OSHA Rule on Chemical Exposure
Jul 25 2008 // Leading lawmakers this week accused the Bush administration of acting in secret to make it harder to limit worker exposure to carcinogens and other dangerous chemicals in the workplace. The Labor Department is trying...
Missouri Judge Dismisses $7 Million in Fines Against Allstate
Jul 25 2008 // A Jackson County judge agreed on Wednesday, July 23 to throw out a contempt order against Allstate Insurance after determining the company had finally complied with his directions to release confidential documents. The...
Economic, Insurance Reforms Possible in India Following Parliament Vote
Jul 24 2008 // India’s government has regained political momentum after surviving a confidence vote in parliament, but optimistic talk about restarting stalled economic reforms could be overblown, analysts said. Economists say the...
Iowa Lawmaker Proposes Tax Breaks for Flood Victims
Jul 23 2008 // A Democratic state senator from Iowa who represents an area hit hard by record flooding is suggesting the state grant a one-year hiatus in property tax collections to regions most affected by the disaster. “Some of...
Rhode Island Toughens Social Host Liability and Underage Drinking Laws
Jul 23 2008 // Rhode Island Gov. Donald Carcieri has signed legislation approved by the General Assembly to strengthen the so-called “social host” law and address a number of other issues regarding underage drinking and...
Commerce Insurance Tops Massachusetts’ Lobbyist-Spending List
Jul 18 2008 // Special interest groups trying to influence policy and legislation on Beacon Hill aren’t letting a poor economy slow them down, spending 13 percent more on lobbyists in the first six months of this year than the same...
Massey, ICG Cited for West Virginia Fatal Mine Accidents
Jul 17 2008 // Safety violations by prominent eastern U.S. coal mine operators Massey Energy Co. and International Coal Group contributed to the deaths of two miners in accidents last May, West Virginia officials said July 15. Each...
Bipartisan Bill Targets ‘Cozy’ Ties Between Airlines, Safety Agency
Jul 17 2008 // A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill this week aimed at ending the Federal Aviation Administration’s sometimes cozy relationship with the airline industry and reversing purported complacency on safety...
Insurance Legislators to Regulators: Slow Down Market Conduct Plan
Jul 16 2008 // Naming critical concerns regarding confidentiality and authority, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) advised a slowdown of a market conduct annual statement (MCAS) proposal being considered by the...
North Dakota Lawmakers Want Review of Agency Spending
Jul 16 2008 // North Dakota legislators say the spending policies of state agencies should get a fresh look to make sure other administrators don’t find themselves facing criminal charges and prison time. Sandy Blunt, the former...
Economic Downturn Dooms Florida Hurricane Supplies Tax Break
Jul 14 2008 // Economic woes have forced Florida lawmakers to ax a pair of popular tax breaks as parents prepare to return their children to school next month and the state readies itself for hurricane season. Prompted by dismal revenue...
Judge Reduces Award to West Virginia Surgeon in Malpractice Insurance Case
Jul 14 2008 // A judge in West Virginia reduced by more than half a jury’s multimillion-dollar award to a Charleston surgeon whose hospital privileges were wrongfully revoked. A Kanawha County jury in February awarded Dr. R.E....
Congress Debates Regulation; Treasury Urges Federal Insurance Option
Jul 10 2008 // Congress began debating financial regulatory reform today, with the Bush Administration advocating a dual federal and state regulatory system for insurance companies similar to the banking system as part of the...
House Subcommittee Moves Key Federal Insurance Regulation Bills
Jul 10 2008 // In a big week for insurance lobbyists, a key House subcommittee advanced three major insurance regulatory measures. The U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored...
Judge Recuses Self from Kentucky Fen-Phen Retrial
Jul 9 2008 // The federal judge who oversaw the eight-week trial of two lawyers accused of conspiring to defraud their clients out of $65 million in a diet-drug settlement won’t handle the retrial. U.S. District Judge William O....
Mass. Allows Liquor Liability JUA to Expand as Hospitality Mutual
Jul 8 2008 // Massachusetts lawmakers have approved legislation converting the state’s liquor liability insurer of last resort into a competitive mutual insurance company offering liquor liability insurance to the entire...
Interview: N.Y.’s Dinallo Sees Insurance Exchange Open by 2009
Jul 8 2008 // New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said Monday a revival of the defunct New York Insurance Exchange could happen as early as next year. Dinallo, in a telephone interview from New York, said the next 18 months...
U.S. Supreme Court Seen Siding with Business on Key Issues
Jul 8 2008 // The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has carved out a reputation for pro-business rulings in a series of important decisions. In its recently ended term, the high court threw out the largest punitive damages...
Nation’s Insurance Commissioners Search for New CEO; Weatherford Exits
Jul 7 2008 // Catherine J. Weatherford, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for the past 12 years, confirmed reports that she will be leaving the association. Weatherford is...
N.Y. Engineers Rescue of Workers’ Comp Trusts
Jul 7 2008 // But Those Involved with 14 Failed Trusts Remain on the Financial Hook New York State lawmakers have authorized $52 million from an emergency state fund to assure uninterrupted payment of benefits of injured workers whose...
