Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Missouri Senator Delays Workplace Discrimination Vote
Feb 3 2012 // A black senator from St. Louis area who said she was fearful of reversing decades of hard-fought civil rights gains held the Missouri Senate floor for hours on Feb. 1 while vowing to block a vote on legislation changing...
PIP Breast Implant Scandal Exposes Weaknesses in EU Safety Net
Feb 3 2012 // In June 2000, when American medical regulators posted a warning letter on the Internet about problems at a breast-implant maker in southern France, French authorities didn’t pay much attention. A U.S. Food and Drug...
Senate Bill on Iran Sanctions Targets Banks, Subsidiaries, Insurers
Feb 3 2012 // Banking transactions with Iran and financing for its oil shipments could come under tougher scrutiny after a bipartisan sanctions bill easily passed a key U.S. Senate Committee on Thursday. The Senate Banking Committee...
Texas Agents Honor State Lawmakers with Independent Leadership Award
Feb 2 2012 // The Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) has presented Independent Leadership Awards to the Honorable Kelly Hancock, Texas House of Representatives, and the Honorable John Carona, Texas Senate. With close to 10...
Treasury Says More Time Needed to Complete FIO’s Modernization Report
Feb 2 2012 // The Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office was expected to complete and send its highly anticipated report on modernization of insurance regulation to Congress in January. But now, it looks like it may take a...
Judge Allows South Carolina Company’s Twitter Lawsuit Against Employee
Feb 2 2012 // A South Carolina company’s lawsuit accusing a former employee of costing it hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost business when he took Twitter followers can go forward, a federal judge has ruled. On Monday, San...
Missouri Democrats Vow to Oppose Discrimination Bill
Feb 1 2012 // Black lawmakers in Missouri, fearful of reversing decades of hard-fought civil rights gains, said they will try to prevent votes in the House and Senate on a measure that would change the state’s workplace...
Judge Frees $100M in Louisiana Citizens’ Claims Dispute
Feb 1 2012 // The governing board of Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort held a special meeting on Jan. 31 to discuss how to deal with a judge’s order that lifted a freeze on more than $100 million at issue in a...
Florida Lawmakers Tackle Check Cashing Ties to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Feb 1 2012 // Florida lawmakers are looking to give regulators and law enforcement officials more flexibility to investigate check cashing companies that may be facilitating fraud in the construction industry. The House Subcommittee on...
Japan Cabinet Approves Cap on Nuclear Reactor Lifespan
Feb 1 2012 // Japan’s Cabinet approved bills Tuesday aimed at bolstering nuclear safety regulations following last year’s Fukushima disaster, including one that would put a 40-year cap on the operational life of nuclear...
Florida Lawmaker Warns on Damages If Cuba Oil Drilling Spills
Jan 30 2012 // Since the United States couldn’t stop Repsol from drilling for oil off Cuba’s coast, it should make the Spanish oil giant pay dearly for damages from any spill that threatens neighboring Florida, a...
Businesses Oppose Proposed Ohio Fraud Legislation
Jan 30 2012 // Some Ohio businesses are opposing a bill backed by the attorney general that would create tougher penalties on fraud and give whistle-blowers a slice of the damages or repayments. The proposed legislation, known as the...
Mississippi Judge Weighs Government Immunity in Shooting Case
Jan 30 2012 // A Hinds County judge will decide if Mississippi governmental agencies are liable for the wounding of a bystander during a 2008 shooting. The Clarion-Ledger reported that Circuit Judge Winston Kidd presided over a four-day...
Oklahoma Lawmakers File State Insurance Opt-Out Bill
Jan 30 2012 // Two Oklahoma lawmakers have filed legislation to increase the number of state employees who could opt out of state insurance coverage. The measure expands a 2011 law that allowed state employees and lawmakers to refuse...
California to Vote on New ‘Clean Car’ Regulations
Jan 27 2012 // California, whose greenhouse gas emissions standards lead the U.S., is poised to vote on pushing them further. The new rules, if approved, would require automakers to build cars and trucks by 2025 that emit about...
Florida Lawmakers Reject Bad-Faith Reform Bill
Jan 27 2012 // Business groups in Florida saw their efforts to reform the state’s bad-faith law end suddenly for the year after a legislative committee voted by a one vote margin to kill a bill that would have placed additional...
Judges Weigh HIV-Positive Man’s Job Bias Claim Against Atlanta Police
Jan 27 2012 // A panel of federal judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of the Atlanta police department’s decision to reject a job application from an HIV-infected man. The 40-year-old man sued the city in 2010, claiming he was...
Lawmaker: Oklahoma Bill Would Help Homeowners with Insurance Claims
Jan 26 2012 // A bill filed in Oklahoma aims to help homeowners with insurance claim payments issued through mortgage companies. Legislation filed by Oklahoma state Rep. Charles Ortega would give mortgage companies no more than 10 days...
Florida Gov. Scott Leads a PIP Rally for Reform
Jan 25 2012 // Standing in the rotunda of Florida’s capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday, Florida officials and business leaders called on state lawmakers to reform the state’s no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) auto...
The Politics of Florida PIP: Industry Looks on While Pols Seek Answers
Jan 25 2012 // Most agree that Florida’s automobile no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) system needs to be reformed. But in the halls of the state Capitol the struggle over just how to reform the law has exposed how...
