Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Thompson Honored with Insurance Council of Texas’ Raymond Mauk Award
Jul 13 2012 // Jay Thompson, a partner with the law firm of Thompson, Coe, Cousins and Irons, has been named the Raymond Mauk Leadership Award honoree by the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT). The award was presented on July 12 at the...
Texas Judge Rules Atmosphere, Air Is Public Trust
Jul 13 2012 // A Texas judge has ruled that the atmosphere and air must be protected for public use, just like water, which could help attorneys tasked with arguing climate change lawsuits designed to force states to cut emissions. The...
Judge Dismisses Suit Over Arrest In Arkansas
Jul 12 2012 // A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Springdale filed by the former mayor of an Oklahoma town. The Springdale Morning News reported that U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren dismissed the suit Monday. The...
PFGBest Broker Scandal Leads to Calls for Insurance for Grain Trade
Jul 12 2012 // The largest U.S. grain trade group was stunned by the latest scandal to hit the futures industry when Iowa-based brokerage PFGBest collapsed after regulators accused the firm of misappropriating customer funds. “Even...
House Panel Balks at Senate Crop Insurance Reforms
Jul 12 2012 // The U.S. House Agriculture Committee challenged two crop insurance reforms approved by the Senate, creating another farm-bill dispute with time running out to enact the new law. Besides disagreeing on crop insurance, the...
Russian Lawmakers Ratify WTO Entry
Jul 11 2012 // Russian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to ratify accession to the World Trade Organization, bringing the world’s largest country into the club that sets global trade rules after a tortuous 18-year negotiating...
Black Lung Protections for Miners Failing; Cases Continue to Rise
Jul 11 2012 // Black lung diagnoses have doubled in the last decade, and a new investigation blames a combination of factors, including operators who cheat the system and lax enforcement by regulators. Experts have warned of the...
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Promotes Causey, Browning
Jul 11 2012 // Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance Mike Chaney announced the promotions of two members of Mississippi Insurance Department personnel to key senior staff positions. Kimberly Gilmer Causey has been promoted to the...
With Supreme Court Ruling In, Employers Turn to Healthcare Law’s Requirements: Mercer
Jul 10 2012 // The majority of employers in a recent survey said they had been waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision before developing a strategy to respond to the law’s provisions slated to go into effect in 2014 and...
US Lawmaker Asks Tuvalu to Stop Reflagging Iran Oil Tankers
Jul 10 2012 // A prominent U.S. lawmaker has asked the small South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu to stop reflagging Iranian oil tankers and warned its government of the risks of running afoul of U.S. sanctions. The European Union...
Florida Adjusters Win Free Speech Case Against 48-Hour Solicitation Rule
Jul 9 2012 // A 2008 Florida law establishing a 48-hour moratorium on public adjusters has been ruled unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court on grounds that it restricts commercial speech. The decision was a blow to the insurance...
Oklahoma Leaders Still Mulling Federal Health Care Law
Jul 9 2012 // More than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the sweeping federal health care law, Oklahoma’s political leaders have offered few specifics about how the state will proceed in complying with its...
President Obama Signs Flood Insurance Reform Bill
Jul 9 2012 // President Barack Obama has signed the “Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2012” into law. The law extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years and makes reforms...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Working on Healthcare Cost Containment Bill
Jul 6 2012 // Massachusetts state lawmakers working to reconcile House and Senate versions of health care cost containment legislation say they are “optimistic” that they will reach a deal. Rep. Steven Walsh says...
North Carolina Lawmakers Pass 4 Year-Ban on Sea Level Policy Changes
Jul 6 2012 // After North Carolina lawmakers were ridiculed for their attempts to ignore a state-sponsored science panel that predicted a sharp rise in sea levels, they agreed this week to forbid any state agency to make policies on...
North Carolina Lawmakers Pass Protection for Insurance Whistleblowers
Jul 6 2012 // North Carolina lawmakers are acting to protect whistleblowers after a hospital sued a former employee who reported what the state auditor later determined were excessive taxpayer charges. The Winston-Salem Journal reported...
Florida Agents, Adjusters Face Continuing Education, Licensing Changes
Jul 5 2012 // A new Florida law seeks to reduce the regulatory burden on agents and adjusters by consolidating some licenses and revamping the education classes they must take to conduct business in the state. Among the changes:...
Judge Who Nixed Apple-Motorola Trial Questions Need for Software Patents
Jul 5 2012 // The U.S. judge who tossed out one of the biggest court cases in Apple Inc.’s smartphone technology battle is questioning whether patents should cover software or most other industries at all. Richard Posner, a...
Nevada to Exit NIMA
Jul 3 2012 // Nevada is leaving the surplus lines tax clearinghouse to which it belongs, Nevada’s insurance commissioner confirmed Tuesday. Nevada’s departure is the latest in a string of states to exit the Non-Admitted...
N.Y. Judge: Aon’s Poaching Suit Against Alliant Can Proceed
Jul 3 2012 // A New York court ruled last week that Aon Risk Services Northeast can proceed with its lawsuit against California-based Alliant Insurance Services involving employment covenants. Aon alleged that several of its former...
