Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Alabama Oil Train Derailment Raises New Crude-by-Rail Safety Questions
Nov 11 2013 // The second explosive oil-train derailment this year, which has finally burned out in rural Alabama, may raise new questions about the safety of the crude-by-rail boom, pointing to problems beyond those that surfaced...
Oil Tank Train Derails in Alabama; Cars Erupt in Flames
Nov 10 2013 // Several oil tank cars that burst into flames after a train derailed in rural Alabama were expected to keep burning into Saturday, potentially reigniting the push for tougher regulation of the boom in moving oil by...
New Deputy Insurance Commissioners Appointed in Louisiana
Nov 8 2013 // Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon announced that Executive Counsel Warren Byrd has been appointed to the position of deputy commissioner of the Office of Property and Casualty in the Louisiana Department of...
Oklahoma Lawmaker to Re-File Earthquake Insurance Bill
Nov 8 2013 // Following a rash of earthquakes, a state lawmaker says he plans to file a bill to require insurance companies to notify Oklahomans whether their policies cover property damage caused by earthquakes. Rep. Mike Shelton of...
Colorado Lawmakers Reviewing Flood Response
Nov 7 2013 // Colorado lawmakers are studying responses to September’s catastrophic floods. A special state legislative panel held its first meeting Tuesday. Members are looking at whether there’s a need for legislation to...
Senate Expected to Pass Gay Workplace Rights Bill Opposed by House
Nov 7 2013 // Most employers would be banned from firing, demoting or refusing to hire workers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity under legislation in line for action today in the U.S. Senate. The measure, known as...
Florida Lawmakers Re-examine PIP Law in Light of Court Ruling
Nov 6 2013 // Florida lawmakers are taking another hard look at the future of the state’s no-fault automobile insurance law in light of a circuit court ruling that left opened the door to legal challenges over the...
Judge Dismisses Suit Against Bank of America For Not Disclosing AIG Claims
Nov 4 2013 // Bank of America Corp. has won the dismissal of an unusual lawsuit in which shareholders accused it of concealing a $10 billion fraud case brought by American International Group Inc. In a decision made public on Monday,...
Miller: Florida Insurers Assume Liability in Agent Appointments, Licensing Verification
Nov 4 2013 // The agent appointment process is not as simple as some think. Insurers that are not careful could find they are in legal trouble. As in so many other areas of insurer operations, due diligence is required in the handling...
Technology Spurs Industry, Government Modernization
Nov 4 2013 // Technological innovations are revolutionizing how businesses and consumers operate — prompting quick action from the insurance industry and the government to enable people to adopt and embrace this rapidly emerging...
Arkansas Judge OKs Class-Action Status in Marlboro Lights Suit
Nov 4 2013 // A judge in Arkansas has granted class-action status to a lawsuit that claims Philip Morris USA deliberately exaggerated the safety of its Marlboro Lights cigarettes. Attorneys for Philip Morris had argued that any lawsuits...
Maryland’s Chesapeake Employers: Business as Usual for Policyholders, Agents
Nov 1 2013 // Maryland’s largest writer of workers’ compensation insurance and the insurer of last resort adopted a new name and a new corporate structure in October. The 99-year-old Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund...
Lost Pheasants, Disappearing Grasslands: Is Crop Insurance to Blame?
Nov 1 2013 // The hunters tramp through neck-high prairie grass with a pair of golden retrievers named Moe and Buck, flushing out birds in a freezing autumn drizzle. When one flutters from the South Dakota grassland, Dick Schmith, 58,...
Judge Weighs Alabama City’s Case Over Police Officer’s Facebook Posts
Oct 31 2013 // A Dothan, Alabama judge is considering whether city officials acted appropriately in upholding disciplinary action against a police officer for Facebook posts she made. Circuit Judge Butch Binford heard arguments in the...
Insurance, Tax, Climate Groups Hit Possible Delay in Flood Insurance Changes
Oct 28 2013 // The prospect of a delay in flood insurance reforms that are raising premiums for many homeowners is being met with pushback from business, taxpayer and insurance groups. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., ranking member of the...
Bipartisan Deal Reached to Delay Flood Insurance Premium Hikes: Waters
Oct 28 2013 // Key House and Senate members have reached a bipartisan deal to delay changes to the federal flood insurance program that are raising premiums for many homeowners. The bill would require regulators to address affordability...
In Pennsylvania, New Legislation Allows Doctors to Apologize
Oct 25 2013 // A decade after a back-and-forth legislative battle that saw both doctors and lawyers visiting the state capitol by the hundreds – perhaps thousands – to argue for or against tort reforms that led to state law...
Texas DPS Touts Success of Border Crime, Vehicle Safety Initiative
Oct 25 2013 // The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that a multi-agency law enforcement initiative, dubbed Operation Strong Safety, that targeted crime, unsafe commercial vehicles and unsafe driving practices has been...
Florida Court Lifts Ban on PIP Law But Challenge Continues
Oct 25 2013 // Florida’s no-fault automobile insurance law is fully in force for now after a district court lifted an injunction that blocked part of law on a legal technicality leaving open the possibility for further challenges...
Louisiana Lawmakers Urged to Act on Flood Insurance Rate Hikes
Oct 24 2013 // Louisiana lawmakers are being urged to reach out to their colleagues in other states, to draw more attention to dramatic rate increases in flood insurance costs around the nation. Don Cravins, chief of staff for U.S. Sen....
