Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Convicted Pennsylvania Ex-Judge Won’t Get Bond Pending Appeal
Apr 3 2009 // A retired Pennsylvania Superior Court judge will not be freed on bond while he appeals his insurance fraud conviction. Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill Jr. says Michael Joyce must report to federal prison once...
La. Insurance Commissioner Will Release E-Mails Under Judge’s Order
Apr 3 2009 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says he will “instantly” release e-mails at the center of a public records dispute involving the state’s insurer of last resort if a judge decides that he...
Flooding Prompts New Scrutiny of North Dakota Disaster Aid
Apr 3 2009 // North Dakota’s spring flooding problems have focused new attention on a proposed $44 million state disaster fund that a Fargo lawmaker wants to establish. “Setting the money aside is more critical than...
Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules for Firefighter in Work Comp Dispute
Apr 3 2009 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court has upheld the claim of a 19-year veteran of the Edmond Fire Department who has cancer that he is entitled to receive workers’ compensation benefits. The firefighter, 45-year-old Tim...
AIG’s Ex-CEO Greenberg Scheduled for House Committee Testimony
Apr 2 2009 // The chairman of a U.S. House oversight panel said Wednesday he will soon call the chief executive of American International Group Inc. to testify, amid the committee’s ongoing probe of the fall of the insurance...
Florida Cap on Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Fees Goes to Senate
Apr 2 2009 // A bill that would trump a Florida Supreme Court ruling and restore a cap on attorneys’ fees in workers’ compensation cases passed the Florida House after some mild debate. Following a second round of discourse...
New York Signs Regulatory Agreement with Macau
Apr 2 2009 // New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo signed a cooperation agreement earlier this week with his counterpart in Macau, a move signaling the increasingly international approach to regulation for the country’s...
AIG Ex-CEO Greenberg, Congress Spar Over Company Mess
Apr 2 2009 // Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, former CEO of American International Group Inc. and creator of the AIG unit whose investments triggered the insurance giants’s near collapse, portrayed himself as a victim in...
Legislators Introduce National Insurance Consumer Protection Act
Apr 2 2009 // Two congressional leaders introduced legislation today that would create a federal regulator for insurance as an alternative to the current state-based regulatory structure currently in plan. Rep. Melissa Bean, D-Ill., and...
U.S. Health Secretary Nominee Sebelius Vows Food Safety Upgrade
Apr 1 2009 // Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius vowed Tuesday to make the Food and Drug Administration a “world class” regulatory agency and to work with industry to improve food safety if she is confirmed as health and...
Arkansas Lawmakers Pass Measure Banning ‘Accident Tax’
Apr 1 2009 // Arkansas lawmakers have approved a new law that stops local governments from billing motorists for accident response services performed by police departments, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of...
Montana Legislature Defeats ‘Bad Faith’ Legislation
Mar 30 2009 // Montana legislators recently defeated House Bill 345, “An act revising the law governing the damages that may be awarded because of an insurance company’s violation of certain prohibited insurance claim...
Insurance Orgs Urge G-20; Don’t Apply Bank Solutions to Industry
Mar 30 2009 // In an open letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, released at the European Insurance Forum in Dublin, a number of the world’s leading insurance organizations urged him to recognize that “insurance has a...
New Kansas Law Bans Cell Phone Use by Young Drivers
Mar 30 2009 // Many young drivers in Kansas won’t be allowed to use their cell phones while behind the wheel starting next year. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed legislation that restricts cell phone use for some teenage drivers...
Florida Gov. Crist Names Hill As Compensation Judge
Mar 27 2009 // Florida Governor Charlie Crist has named Marjorie Renee Hill of Tallahassee as Judge of Compensation Claims. Hill, 47, has served as the director of the First District Court of Appeal’s Workers’ Compensation...
Obama Plan Retains Their Insurance Role, Say State Regulators
Mar 27 2009 // According to National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) President and New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny, the most recent financial services regulatory proposal from the Obama Administration...
Obama Plan Would Tighten Regulation of Large Financial Firms
Mar 27 2009 // Wall Street faces curbs on risk taking and the prospect of lower profits under sweeping U.S. proposals to prevent a repeat of the credit crisis. The Obama administration’s plan to rewrite financial rules, announced...
Sonnichsen to be Chief Contact in D.C. on State Insurance Regulation
Mar 27 2009 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has named Ethan Sonnichsen as Government Relations director. Sonnichsen previously served as Government Relations manager. In his new position, Sonnichsen is...
Missouri Senate Repeals Fire Marshal Inspection Rule
Mar 27 2009 // On March 25, Missouri Senators endorsed legislation that would repeal a requirement that fire safety inspections in Missouri long-term care facilities be performed by local fire departments or the state fire...
Insurers Find Geithner Regulatory Plan Unclear on Federal Role
Mar 27 2009 // The nation’s insurance industry found some things to like and not to like in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s proposed restructuring of financial services regulation. While Secretary Geithner said that any...
