Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Boston Judge Orders 14 Drug Cos. to Settle Breast Cancer Case
Jan 21 2012 // A federal judge in Boston has ordered 14 drug companies to negotiate settlements for 53 women who claim their breast cancer was caused by an anti-miscarriage drug their mothers took decades ago. Lawyers for the women said...
Senate, House Scuttle Online Piracy Bills
Jan 20 2012 // Senate and House leaders have put their online piracy bills on the back burner after a week of heavy lobbying by technology industry critics of the bills. “It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best...
Fitch: Bermuda Insurance Market Resilient as Pricing Firms
Jan 20 2012 // Following near-record global catastrophe losses in 2011, Bermuda-domiciled reinsurers are positioned to benefit from an improved underwriting and somewhat better pricing environment this year, according to analysts at...
Financial Stability Tops List of Insurers’ Concerns: Geneva Association
Jan 19 2012 // A newly published study from insurance think tank the Geneva Association analyzes the principle concerns facing the industry in 2012. The current global financial instability tops the list. It’s closely followed by...
What Would Online Piracy Bills SOPA and PIPA Do?
Jan 19 2012 // The House of Representative’s Stop Online Piracy Act and the Senate’s Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act have generated fierce opposition within the...
Ship Disaster Unlikely to Prompt Quick Safety Changes
Jan 19 2012 // The cruise ship disaster off Italy’s coast is drawing fresh scrutiny to the gaps in international safety rules and standards – yet there may be little appetite among the world’s major shipping nations and...
U.S. House Panel to Review Cruise Line Safety
Jan 19 2012 // Responding to the still-unfolding disaster of a capsized Italian cruise ship, a U.S. congressional committee launched an investigation on Wednesday of industry safety practices and planned a hearing next month. The House...
Florida’s Citizens Eyes Risk Transfer While Lawmakers Plot Changes
Jan 18 2012 // Florida’s largest homeowners’ insurer has set the goal of moving at least $1 billion in risk back to the private capital markets while looking to lawmakers to make statutory changes that will assist the insurer...
West Virginia Lawmakers’ Personal Tragedies Spur Mine Safety Bill
Jan 18 2012 // For two West Virginia lawmakers who lost fathers in coal mining accidents, preventing disasters like the 2010 Upper Big Branch explosion has taken a personal turn with Monday’s introduction of a bipartisan safety...
Supreme Court Won’t Hear FINRA Immunity Case
Jan 18 2012 // The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a ruling that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) had immunity from a private lawsuit over the 2007 deal that created the Wall Street regulator. The...
Congress May Revisit Online Piracy Bill After White House Criticism
Jan 17 2012 // Federal legislation aimed at curbing online piracy, which had appeared to be on a fast track for approval by Congress, appears likely to be scaled back or jettisoned entirely in the wake of critical comments over the...
New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission Mulls Overhauls
Jan 13 2012 // Members of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission are considering recommendations for overhauling the agency’s hiring policies and shifting some of its duties to other state departments. The commission sets...
New York Judge Drops Binladen Group as 9/11 Defendant
Jan 13 2012 // A Manhattan judge has dismissed a construction company founded by Osama bin Laden’s father as a defendant in Sept. 11 lawsuits brought by families of terrorism victims and others. Judge George Daniels dismissed the...
Connecticut Governor Seeks Storm Exercises, Utility Standards
Jan 13 2012 // Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced this week that he will propose legislation that could lead to new performance standards for all utilities and could penalize them with fines if they fall short in their response...
Judge Allows Suit Alleging GE Misled Investors
Jan 13 2012 // A federal judge refused on Thursday to throw out a lawsuit accusing General Electric Co and its chief executive of misleading investors about the conglomerate’s financial health and exposure to risky debt during the...
Florida Gov. Scott Supports Bill Forcing Accident Victims to Emergency Rooms
Jan 13 2012 // A bill that would force all accident victims to go to emergency rooms instead of their family doctor, even for minor injuries, cleared a Florida House subcommittee on Wednesday. The bill (HB 119) was approved 10-5 by the...
Supreme Court Rules Religious Ministers Not Covered by Job Bias Laws
Jan 12 2012 // Religious groups and churches may hire and fire their leaders without being subject to laws against discrimination in employment, the U.S. Supreme Court said this week in a unanimous landmark ruling. For the first time,...
Bill to Make Highways Safer on Fast Track in Missouri Senate
Jan 12 2012 // Legislation is on a fast track in the Missouri Senate to make the state comply with federal standards for commercial truckers and drunken driving sentences in an effort to avoid penalties that could dock tens of millions...
Florida Lawmakers Advance Brain Injury, Wrongly Imprisoned Claims Bills
Jan 12 2012 // A man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and the brain-damaged and paralyzed victim of a crash with a speeding sheriff’s deputy who was late for work would receive millions in...
FIO’s McRaith: 150 Comments Received on Modernizing Insurance Regulation
Jan 11 2012 // Speaking at an industry conference yesterday, the Federal Insurance Office’s top official gave an update on his department’s upcoming report on the U.S. insurance regulatory system. FIO Director Michael McRaith...
