Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Missouri Bill Shielding Businesses from Fines in Lawsuits Advances
May 1 2019 // Missouri lawmakers have advanced a bill to make it harder for courts to fine defendants as punishment for hurting people. The pending measure would raise the standard for what are called punitive damages, which courts use...
PG&E Still Has No Estimate on Compensating California Wildfire Victims
May 1 2019 // Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.’s top financial executives said during a bankruptcy meeting Monday they still haven’t determined when the utility can start compensating victims of recent wildfires started by...
A Quick First Look at Florida’s New AOB Bill
May 1 2019 // I have a new hobby. It compliments one of my other hobbies, reading insurance policies. What is it? I’ve started reading legislation. What a thrill to print (yes, print) 16 pages of legislation. The numbered lines,...
Losses from Cryptocurrency Thefts, Fraud Surged to $1.2 Billion in Q1: Report
May 1 2019 // Losses from the theft of cryptocurrencies from exchanges and fraud-related activities surged in the first quarter of the year to $1.2 billion, or 70 percent of the level for all of 2018, cyber-security firm CipherTrace...
Internet Privacy Bill Proving Struggle for Congress
May 1 2019 // Lawmakers drafting a bill to create rules governing online privacy hope to have a discussion draft complete by late May with a Senate committee vote during the summer, but disputes are likely to push that timetable back,...
Florida Lawmakers Pass Text While Driving Ban, Hands-Free Requirement
May 1 2019 // The Florida House on Monday passed a compromise bill that would make texting while driving a primary offense, as well as create a hands-free area within school zones and construction zones where workers are present. The...
Kansas Took Control of 22 Struggling Nursing Homes Last Year
Apr 30 2019 // Kansas lawmakers have tightened the financial requirements for a license to operate nursing homes after state regulators were forced to take over 22 struggling facilities last year. Officials with the Kansas Department for...
Oh Rats! Pests a Problem in Building That Houses Texas Insurance Department
Apr 30 2019 // On Jan. 16, an employee at the Texas Department of Insurance noticed an unwelcome pest in her fifth-floor office in one of the towers of downtown Austin’s William P. Hobby Jr. State Office Building. Her maintenance...
Autonomous Vehicle Regulation Bill Passed by Oklahoma Legislature
Apr 29 2019 // Oklahoma would establish rules regulating how to safely operate driverless vehicles navigating state highways under a bill passed by Legislature that has been sent to the governor’s office. Autonomous vehicles are...
Florida Officials Call on U.S. Lawmakers to Pass Hurricane Michael Aid Package
Apr 29 2019 // A bipartisan group of Florida Cabinet members and state lawmakers is demanding that U.S. lawmakers pass a disaster-relief package for Hurricane Michael victims. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, Attorney General...
Florida Supreme Court Rules Against Parkland Sheriff
Apr 26 2019 // The Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a sheriff who fought his removal from office after the governor claimed he failed to prevent last year’s Parkland school shooting. Florida’s highest court...
New AAIS Florida Homeowners By-Peril Program Approved by State Regulator
Apr 26 2019 // AAIS (the American Association of Insurance Services) has received approval for its new Florida Homeowners By-Peril Insurance Program from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). The AAIS Florida Homeowners...
California Lawmakers Advance Resilient Homes Initiative
Apr 25 2019 // A bill to enable the California Earthquake Authority to expand mitigation programs cleared its first hurdle this week when it passed the Senate Insurance Committee. The Resilient Homes Initiative, Senate Bill 254, was...
Minnesota AG: For-Profit Health Insurers Could Raid State’s Reserves
Apr 25 2019 // Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has called on lawmakers to reverse a consequence of 2017 law that repealed the state’s ban on for-profit health maintenance organizations, saying for-profit companies could...
Arizona Becomes 48th State with Cellphone-Driving Law
Apr 25 2019 // Arizona ended a decade of resistance to restrictions on using a cellphone while driving when Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law this week outlawing holding a phone behind the wheel. It is now the 48th state to ban texting and...
Florida Governor to Sign AOB Reform Bill; Citizens Plans Rate Review
Apr 25 2019 // Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signaled his support of a property insurance reform bill passed by the Florida Senate Wednesday, saying in a statement Wednesday he will sign the legislation that the insurance industry...
Court Rules Wyoming Killer Was Not a ‘Resident’ Under Mother’s Homeowners Policy
Apr 24 2019 // A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th District this week ruled that a Wyoming man convicted of a 2014 murder was not an insured “resident” under his mother’s homeowners insurance policy, and it turns out...
Update: Florida Legislature Passes Industry-Backed AOB Reform Bill
Apr 24 2019 // After seven years of failed attempts, Florida legislators have passed property insurance reform to address the abuse of a policyholder benefit known as assignment of benefits (AOB). The insurance industry and consumers...
Oklahoma Supreme Court Tosses Non-Economic Damages Cap
Apr 24 2019 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court on April 23 struck down a state law that caps monetary damages for pain and suffering in personal injury lawsuits, the latest civil justice measure backed by the Republican-controlled Legislature...
Alphabet’s Wing Is First Commercial Drone Unit Certified as Airline
Apr 24 2019 // An offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google has become the first drone operator to receive government approval as an airline, an important step that gives it the legal authority to begin dropping products to actual...
