Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: Bush Administration Rulemaking Limits Consumer Lawsuits
May 15 2008 // Faced with an unfriendly Congress, the Bush administration has found another, quieter way to make it more difficult for consumers to sue businesses over faulty products. It’s rewriting the bureaucratic...
Georgia Auto Insurance Legislation Leaves Regulator out of the Loop
May 15 2008 // Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill that will give automobile insurers the ability to establish rates without the consent of the state’s Insurance Commissioner. Perdue said he signed Senate Bill 276 because he...
Pennsylvania Prosecutors Say Ex-Judge Can Get Fair Trial in Erie
May 13 2008 // Pennsylvania prosecutors say former Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce’s insurance fraud trial should remain in Erie’s federal court. The 59-year-old Joyce wants the trial moved to U.S. District Court in...
Oklahoma Gov. Henry Vetoes Lawsuit Reform Bill
May 12 2008 // As promised, Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed lawsuit reform legislation he said conflicts with an Oklahoma Supreme Court decision on a similar bill that the court found unconstitutional two years ago. Henry issued the...
Missouri Businesses Sue to Stop Fee Increases on Vehicle Records
May 12 2008 // Three businesses sued on Friday, May 9th to halt a state fee increase for obtaining driver’s license and vehicle records, claiming the higher fee violates Missouri’s open-records law as well the state and...
Colorado Bill Gives Regulator Authority to Demand Insurance Compensation
May 9 2008 // Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has signed a bill that will allow the state Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), and its Division of Insurance the legal authority to demand that insurance companies or agents compensate...
New York Agents Want to Rein in State Workers’ Comp Insurer
May 9 2008 // A trade group for New York insurance agents wants to rewrite the laws governing the New York State Insurance Fund – a nonprofit state agency which is New York’s largest workers’ compensation insurer...
Missouri Lawmaker Balks at Driver’s License Records Fee Increase
May 8 2008 // A leading House Republican said Tuesday, May 6, he will try before the legislative session ends next week to reverse a Department of Revenue decision to increase fees charged to access driver’s license...
Judge in West Virginia Approves Settlements of 3 King Lawsuits
May 8 2008 // A circuit judge has approved settlements totaling $2.4 million of three malpractice lawsuits that accused a former West Virginia doctor of harming patients. Lawyers for Putnam General Hospital and the hospital’s...
Oklahoma Lawsuit Reform Measure Heads to Gov. Henry
May 8 2008 // Legislation requiring an expert opinion confirming professional negligence before a lawsuit can be filed is headed to Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry after final passage in the House of Representatives. House Bill 2458 would...
Maine Bans Sale of Toys with Lead
May 7 2008 // Environmental health advocates say Maine’s new law to ban lead in toys makes the state a national leader. As of July 2009, the law will ban the sale of children’s products in Maine that contain lead, including...
Senate Advances Renewal of Flood Insurance without Wind Coverage
May 7 2008 // A bill to renew the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) passed a key test vote in the U.S. Senate Tuesday, with aides saying they expected final action on the legislation before the end of the week. The Senate agreed...
Okla. Lawmaker with Ties to Industry Blocks Insurance Bills
May 6 2008 // An Oklahoma lawmaker who has blocked legislation that would require health insurers to cover a variety of medical procedures and conditions has accepted thousands of dollars in donations from individuals or political...
Mass. Agents Take Aim at Progressive Online; Insurer Defends Site
May 6 2008 // Independent agents in Massachusetts have charged that Progressive Insurance, which began selling auto insurance online in the state May 1, is skirting state regulations and misleading consumers with its Web site quoting...
House, Senate to Confer on Differing Product Safety Bills
May 5 2008 // U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor will head a conference committee on legislation to strengthen consumer product safety efforts, and says the group will meet soon. The Democrat from Arkansas, who chairs the committee, said the group...
U.S. Insurers Face Uphill Battle to Alter Foreign Insurers’ Tax Break
May 5 2008 // A coalition of U.S. insurers is calling on lawmakers to close a tax loophole that helps foreign insurers, and although it has won the support of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, it faces a harder task convincing...
Judge Upholds Conn. Widow’s Settlement
May 5 2008 // A Greenwich, Connecticut probate judge has upheld a settlement of more than $1 million between a cruise ship line and the widow of a missing passenger. George Smith IV of Greenwich had been on a 12-night honeymoon cruise...
Insurers not Impressed with Florida’s Revamped Insurance Package
May 5 2008 // While many Florida lawmakers claim to be opposed to gambling, they don’t mind taking a chance on Mother Nature. They rolled the dice again on May 1, signing off on a new insurance bill that does little to alleviate...
Main Street Insurance Agents Facing ‘Trojan Horses,’ Says Agent Leader
May 5 2008 // Main Street insurance agents are facing an onslaught with a number of “Trojan Horses” suddenly appearing, all designed to help their competitors win over market share. That is the assessment of the...
Judge: Corps of Engineers Can Be Sued for Katrina Flooding
May 5 2008 // The Army Corps of Engineers can be held liable for flood damage caused by a “hurricane highway,” a navigation channel that is believed to have funneled Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge into the city, a...
