Latest Legislation Headlines

All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

U.S. Judge in Oregon Dismisses Movie Pirating Lawsuit

May 16 2013 // A federal judge has dismissed a movie company’s Internet piracy complaint against 34 Oregonians, saying the company was unfairly using the court’s subpoena power in a “reverse class-action suit” to...

Wyoming Lawmakers Weigh Alcohol Testing For Drunk Drivers

May 16 2013 // Wyoming lawmakers are looking into legislation that would keep repeat offenders of alcohol-related crimes out of jail and subject them instead to stringent testing. The Joint Judiciary Interim Committee heard details about...

House Farm Bill Expands Crop Insurance, Cuts Food Stamps

May 16 2013 // A Republican-controlled panel in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved the biggest cuts in food stamps for the poor in a generation and a potentially expensive expansion of federally subsidized crop...

Will Supreme Court Enter Climate Change Debate?

May 16 2013 // With a barrage of legal briefs, a coalition of business groups and Republican-leaning states are taking their fight against Obama administration climate change regulations to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Chamber of...

Missouri Lawmakers Approve Disaster Fund

May 16 2013 // Missouri lawmakers have approved a bill creating a $15 million fund to repair infrastructure in areas where the president has issued a disaster declaration. The measure is meant chiefly to help Joplin rebuild street curbs...

State Senate OKs California Ski Safety Legislation

May 15 2013 // The state Senate passed a bill that would require California ski resorts to prepare an annual safety plan and post those reports on their websites. Lawmakers passed SB564 on a 24-8 partisan vote. The bill by Democratic...

Utah Bans Teen Drivers From Using Cellphones

May 15 2013 // Before she pulls out of the driveway, Stefhany Robles switches her phone on silent or turns it off. The 16-year-old junior at Salt Lake City’s West High School says the distraction isn’t worth shooting off a...

EPIC Names Beale Employee Benefits Consultant in California

May 13 2013 // Edgewood Partners Insurance Center named Kris Beale an employee benefits division senior compliance consultant in its San Francisco, Calif. office. Beale will assist EPIC clients with federal, state, and local health care...

Nebraska Motorcycle Helmet Bill Will Get Another Ride

May 13 2013 // An effort to repeal Nebraska’s motorcycle-helmet law will get another ride in the Legislature, this time with a new crop of state lawmakers. Opponents who have tried for two decades to repeal the helmet law are...

Drowsy Driving Remains Elusive National Highway Dilemma

May 13 2013 // It probably happens to most drivers. Heading home after an overtime shift and the eyelids flutter. Up all night with a sick baby and you rest your eyes for just a moment on the way to dropping off the kids at school....

DIMA’s CEO Examines Ireland’s Links to Re/Insurance and Europe

May 13 2013 // The European Insurance Forum, held in Dublin on the 9th and 10th of May, presented an opportunity to examine Ireland’s progress in overcoming the financial crisis that caused a severe recession beginning in 2008. It...

Senators Finalizing Drug Compounding Regulation Bill

May 13 2013 // U.S. senators appeared close to finalizing a bill that would require pharmacies that compound and sell sterile drugs across state lines to submit to greater federal regulation. The proposed legislation comes in the wake of...

Tennessee Governor Signs Workers’ Compensation Bill

May 9 2013 // Tennessee’s workers’ compensation system is going to undergo its most significant changes in decades including the creation of a new administrative court system to handle workers’ compensation...

Driving-Stoned Debate Appears Settled In Colorado

May 9 2013 // Colorado’s long debates on marijuana regulation and driving high came to an end Tuesday, when the Senate voted on three pot measures they’ve been debating for months. The Senate gave final approval to a...

Connecticut Bill Extending Repair Steering Ban Advances

May 9 2013 // Connecticut lawmakers are advancing a proposal to expand a ban on auto damage appraisers steering customers to specific repair shops to include glass repairs. The bill was passed Tuesday 107-to-38 by the House of...

R.I. Bill Considers Allowing Driver’s Licenses for Illegal Immigrants

May 9 2013 // Rhode Island lawmakers reviewed legislation Tuesday that would allow immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses regardless of their legal status — but the controversial idea has already run into opposition from law...

Judge: U.S. Can Sue Bank of America Over Toxic Mortgages Under FIRREA

May 8 2013 // A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the United States can pursue parts of a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. over its sale of toxic mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, boosting a largely untested legal...

Idaho Sues Former Lawmaker Over Workers’ Comp

May 8 2013 // The Idaho Industrial Commission has filed a lawsuit against a former state lawmaker from northern Idaho over unpaid workers’ compensation insurance. The lawsuit filed in 1st District Court against accuses former...

New Georgia Law Limits Lobbyists’ Spending

May 8 2013 // Gov. Nathan Deal has signed into law new limits on how much money lobbyists can spend while trying to influence public officials in Georgia. The legislation takes effect Jan. 1. It sets the first limits on what lobbyists...

Bill to Fix California Surplus Lines, LLC Contractors Law Thriving

May 7 2013 // As a horde of bills that’s introduced each year wends their way through both houses of California’s Legislature, a few people in the insurance industry are watching closely an innocuous looking bill with simple...