Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Virus Restrictions on Businesses, Gatherings Lifted in Most Tennessee Counties
Oct 2 2020 // Businesses in 89 of Tennessee’s 95 counties will no longer have to adhere to social distancing guidelines, Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday, even though cases of COVID-19 in the state have been persistently high. The...
Judges Dismisses $18M in Liens Filed by California Medical Provider Convicted of Fraud
Oct 1 2020 // An administrative law judge in California has dismissed liens valued at $18 million filed by convicted medical provider Michael E. Barri, bringing to a close one of the earliest cases aimed at combatting fraud in...
Vermont Department of Economic Development Hires Nevins
Oct 1 2020 // The Vermont Department of Economic Development (DED) has hired Brittany Nevins as the new Captive Insurance Economic Development director. She replaces Ian Davis, Vermont’s former director of Financial...
Florida Attorney Behind Thousands of Insurer Lawsuits Violated 14 Bar Rules: Judge
Sep 30 2020 // Embattled Florida attorney Scot Strems, who, with his firm, has filed thousands of assignment of benefit and first party lawsuits against Florida property insurers over the last several years, has been found by a...
COVID-19 Legislative Session in Louisiana Began This Week
Sep 29 2020 // Only three months removed from their last gathering, Louisiana legislators returned Monday for a special session focused on the coronavirus outbreak, with deepening rifts between Gov. John Bel Edwards and Republican...
California Ban on Fracking by 2024 Criticized as Too Late
Sep 28 2020 // California Gov. Gavin Newsom moved Wednesday to end issuing new hydraulic fracturing permits by 2024, a delay criticized by many environmental groups but characterized as legally and politically realistic by...
Opinion: Missouri Appeals Court Ruling Shrinks Insurers’ Right to Intervene
Sep 28 2020 // The Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals has again construed the effect of the 2017 amendments to Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.065, which gave insurers a limited right to intervene and protect their interest when...
Michigan House Passes Bills Shielding Employers from Virus Lawsuits
Sep 25 2020 // A divided Michigan House voted on Sept. 23 to shield health providers and businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits filed by patients, employees or customers, advancing bills that majority Republicans said would give...
California Governor Planning to Ban Sale of New Gas Vehicles in 15 Years
Sep 25 2020 // California will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks in 15 years, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday, establishing a timeline in the nation’s most populous state that could force U.S....
Congress Parks Self-Driving Car Regulation Until 2021
Sep 24 2020 // The U.S. Congress will try again in 2021 to try to approve long-stalled reforms to speed the adoption of self-driving cars, a key Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday. U.S. lawmakers have been divided for years over how to...
2 Reasons COVID-19 Legislation is the Wrong Solution
Sep 23 2020 // Back in March and April, I gave two webinars on COVID-19 for the Academy of Insurance. If you haven’t had a chance to take those, click here to get the Academy of Insurance COVID-19 related classes. One of the topics...
Coronavirus Safety: U.S. Behind Global Rivals in Protecting Meat Plant Workers
Sep 22 2020 // The U.S. government is falling behind global rivals when it comes to protecting meatpacking workers from Covid-19 infections, even though the nation’s plants were among the first to confront rampant cases across...
Banks, Insurers Await ‘Brexit Dividend’ of ‘British-Style’ Regulation
Sep 22 2020 // Britain will adopt tough but less bureaucratic financial rules after Brexit, starting with simpler regulation of small banks, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Tuesday. Britain will soon unveil new...
Insurance Advisory Organization’s Pandemic Endorsement Approved by 6 States
Sep 22 2020 // AAIS (the American Association of Insurance Services) has received approval from six state insurance departments for its health-emergency policy endorsement, clarifying coverage and cancellation provisions in the wake of...
5th Circuit Reasserts Bad Faith Not Necessary to Win Interest Penalty Against Texas Insurers
Sep 22 2020 // A Houston plaintiff’s attorney defeated State Farm Lloyd’s for the fourth time on the same issue, this time coming away with a federal appellate court ruling that policyholders don’t have to prove that...
Judge Allows Great Smoky Mountains Wildfire Lawsuits to Move Forward
Sep 21 2020 // U.S. park officials have failed to show enough was done to keep the public updated as a deadly wildfire spread from Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2016, a judge ruled. The decision earlier this month by U.S....
First Charges Filed Under New York’s Cyber Reg Involve First American Data Leak
Sep 21 2020 // The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) filed cybersecurity charges against a title insurance provider for exposing millions of documents containing consumers’ personal information. The charges are...
Judge OKs $440K Settlement in South Dakota Forced Catheterization Suit
Sep 18 2020 // A federal judge has approved legal settlements totaling $440,000 for people in South Dakota who were subjected to forced catheterizations to check for drug use. U.S. District Judge Roberto Lange ruled in April that police...
House Democrats Ask Why Auto Safety Rules Are Delayed
Sep 17 2020 // Three senior Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday asked government auditors to study why U.S. auto safety regulators have failed to write dozens of new auto safety regulations. The delayed rules...
House Report Slams FAA, Boeing for ‘Horrific Culmination’ of Failures in 737 Crashes
Sep 17 2020 // Two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed all 346 passengers and crew aboard were the “horrific culmination” of failures by the planemaker and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a U.S. House panel concluded...
