Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida’s Citizens Revises 2019 Rate Filing; Will Request 2.3% Statewide Rate Increase
Jun 20 2019 // Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors has approved a revised 2019 rate proposal that the company said reflects recent legislative changes that targets the ongoing abuse of assignment of benefit...
New York Effort to Legalize Marijuana Fails; Decriminalization Possible
Jun 19 2019 // New York state lawmakers couldn’t approve marijuana legalization this session, and the legislature is now considering a back-up bill that would expand access to the drug for medical reasons and decriminalize its...
Bayer Asks Judge to Overrule $2 Billion Monsanto Roundup Verdict
Jun 19 2019 // Bayer AG has asked a California judge to overrule a $2 billion verdict by jurors who found the company’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer responsible for a couple’s cancer, arguing the jury decision was not...
Facebook Plans Global Cryptocurrency, Entry into Financial Services
Jun 19 2019 // Facebook Inc. announced ambitious plans on Tuesday to launch a new global cryptocurrency called Libra, part of an effort to expand into digital payments that immediately raised privacy concerns. The social networking giant...
Stringent Climate Policy Poised to Pass in Oregon
Jun 18 2019 // Oregon is on the precipice of becoming the second state after California to adopt a cap-and-trade program, a market-based approach to lowering the greenhouse gas emissions behind global warming. Supporters call it the...
After Lawmakers Abolish State Plumbing Licensing Board; Texas Governor Revives It
Jun 18 2019 // Heading off the prospect of everyone in Texas being able to call themselves plumbers, Gov. Greg Abbott extended the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners and its licensing law until 2021 via an executive order. The Texas...
Former Tenn. Insurance Head McPeak Joins Greenberg Traurig Law Firm in Nashville
Jun 18 2019 // Former Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak, who stepped down as the head of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner last month, will join the global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A.,...
What to Expect from Florida’s AOB Reform Law Taking Effect July 1
Jun 18 2019 // The countdown is on for Florida assignment of benefits (AOB) reform that will take effect July 1, and the insurance industry is getting ready to respond to new requirements as a result of the law as well as evaluating how...
Florida Hopes to Lure Autonomous Car Companies Under New Law
Jun 17 2019 // Self-driving vehicles with no humans on board will be able to operate in Florida – once they’re finally ready for prime time – under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis said he hopes to...
Reported Surplus Lines Premium Breaking Records in Texas This Year
Jun 17 2019 // Surplus lines premium in Texas has consistently broken records each month in 2019, according to data recorded by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX). For the first five months of this year, each recorded...
California Surplus Lines Stamping Fee Goes to 0.25% in 2020
Jun 17 2019 // The Surplus Line Association of California board has voted to adjust the stamping fee to 0.25%, effective Jan. 1, 2020, the group announced earlier this month. The stamping fee has been set at 0.2% for seven years, the...
Washington Supreme Court Rules Against Florist in Gay Wedding Case
Jun 17 2019 // A florist who refused to provide floral arrangements for the wedding of a same-sex couple violated the state’s consumer protection and anti-discrimination laws, Washington’s Supreme Court has ruled. The ruling...
Texas Governor Signs Disaster Relief, Preparedness Bills
Jun 14 2019 // Gov. Greg Abbott has signed four bills into law aimed at bolstering the state’s emergency preparedness and disaster relief programs, including framework that provides more than $1.6 billion for flood control projects...
Uber, Lyft Appeal for Deal on Driver Status as Independent Contractors
Jun 14 2019 // Faced with legislation in California that endangers their business model, Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. are urging a compromise that would keep their drivers from being considered employees. “We can make...
House Committee Approves 5-Year Flood Insurance Extension with Bipartisan Reforms
Jun 13 2019 // A key House committee has passed legislation to renew the National Flood Insurance Program for five years and institute various reforms. The House Financial Services Committee, by a bipartisan vote of 59 to 0, approved the...
North Carolina Lawmakers Disagree Over Watered Down Hands Free Bill
Jun 13 2019 // Weeks after North Carolina House members watered down a distracted driving bill, state senators want to restore robust language that would prohibit drivers from holding their cellphones. Republican lawmakers and parents of...
Oklahoma Judge Has Questions About $85M Opioid Settlement
Jun 12 2019 // An Oklahoma judge is declining to approve the state’s proposed $85 million settlement with an opioid maker until he’s assured it complies with a new law targeting such deals. The attorney general’s office...
Environmentalists Sue Over Trump Rollback of Offshore Oil Safety Regulations
Jun 12 2019 // A coalition of environmental groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Interior Department’s rollbacks of safety measures put in place by the Obama administration in the aftermath of the fatal 2010 BP...
E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise; Researchers Urge Helmet Laws
Jun 12 2019 // Facial and head injuries from riding electric scooters have tripled over the past decade, according to a Rutgers study. Electric scooter use has been increasing in popularity as an alternative to gas vehicles. However,...
California Surplus Lines Stamping Fee Goes to 0.25% in 2020
Jun 11 2019 // The Surplus Line Association of California board has voted to adjust the stamping fee to 0.25%, effective Jan. 1, 2020, the group announced on Tuesday. The stamping fee has been set at 0.2% for seven years, the longest...
