Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Denies Delay in R.I. Lead Paint Cleanup
May 4 2007 // Plans for a large-scale cleanup of Rhode Island homes contaminated with lead paint can move forward, a judge ruled this week, denying a request by manufacturers who lost a landmark lawsuit to delay the process. A jury...
Maine Adopts Primary Seat Belt Law
May 3 2007 // Maine Gov. John Baldacci has signed a bill that will make failure by motorists to use seat belts a primary offense, but violators will only get warnings for the first few months the law’s in effect. Under current...
La. Measures Would Shrink Citizens Insurance, Change Building Codes
May 3 2007 // While Louisiana struggles to retain insurance markets and affordable coverage, the state’s lawmakers are targeting problems with the state’s insurer of last resort and building codes. A Louisiana State Senate...
Lawmakers Worry that Lawsuit Reform Issue is Dead in Okla.
May 2 2007 // Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of a bill putting restrictions on civil lawsuits may have killed the issue for the 2007 Oklahoma Legislature, Republican legislative leaders said. Asked if efforts to revise the civil...
National Groups Say Ind. Legislative Session Addressed Key Issues
May 2 2007 // Three national insurance company trade organizations said the 2007 Indiana legislative session ended on a positive note regarding key issues facing the insurance industry. According to the National Association of Mutual...
Hawaii DOI Takes Back Control of Insurance Rates
May 2 2007 // Hawaii lawmakers are prepared to approve a bill Tuesday that brings back government oversight of health insurance rates a year after they deregulated them. Members of both houses of the Legislature have agreed on a final...
La. Gov. Pitches $100M Insurance Plan
May 1 2007 // With Louisiana’s hurricane recovery stymied in part by skyrocketing property insurance rates, Gov. Kathleen Blanco has a plan to ease the problem: Offer insurance companies $100 million in incentives. But in an...
N.J. Lawmakers Urge Action on Shore Evacuation Plan
May 1 2007 // Some Jersey shore legislators say the formation of a task force meant to make changes to shore-area evacuation routes — for use in the event of a hurricane — needs to be done quickly. On Jan. 30, the state Assembly...
Proposal Would Give La. AG Muscle in Insurance Disputes
Apr 30 2007 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood didn’t wait long to take on the insurance industry for denying the claims of thousands of policyholders after Hurricane Katrina. Less than a month after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm...
Florida Lawmakers Faced with Lengthy to-do List in Final Week
Apr 30 2007 // The Republicans who control the Florida Legislature swore they would solve the property tax imbroglio before the 2007 session ends May 4, but their competing bills remain unresolved along with several other bills of...
New Chubb D&O Form Addresses Trends Outside the U.S.
Apr 30 2007 // In response to changes in insurance regulations and more stringent corporate governance requirements worldwide, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies has introduced a Difference in Limits/Difference in Conditions...
Industry Associations Urge Wash. Governor to Veto Fair Conduct Act
Apr 27 2007 // Insurance industry associations are continuing to fight Washington’s Insurance Fair Conduct Act, asking Gov. Chris Gregoire to veto the legislation. ESSB 5726 is designed to provide insurance consumers with...
La. Lawmaker Wants AG’s Opinion on Gov.’s Insurance Incentive Plan
Apr 27 2007 // A lawmaker from Acadiana has asked Louisiana’s attorney general to determine the constitutionality of Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s plan to grant up to $100 million in state money to private insurance...
Coming La. Legislative Session to Target Insurance, Lobbyist Says
Apr 27 2007 // Despite its focus on fiscal matters, Louisiana’s 2007 legislative session, which begins April 30, is certain to have plenty of impact on the insurance industry, according to one industry lobbyist. And it’s not...
Ore. Senate Committee To Allow Preteens on ATVs
Apr 26 2007 // All-terrain vehicle riders and those concerned about their safety have reached a compromise that would keep preteen children on the popular machines. An Oregon Senate committee announced a plan Monday that would require...
Fla. CFO Expands Investigation into Office of Insurance Regulation
Apr 26 2007 // Six days after directing her Inspector General to investigate whether state computers were used for political purposes in the Office of Insurance Regulation, Fla. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink directed the I.G. to ask...
Senator Says Pa. Payroll Tax for Health Insurance won’t Pass
Apr 26 2007 // Pennsylvania lawmakers are unlikely to pass Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposal to impose a new payroll tax that would help expand state-subsidized health insurance because of questions about its legality and its effect on...
Ind. Governor Signs Legislator Pay, Health Insurance Bills
Apr 26 2007 // Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed two bills into law this week _ one that would raise the base pay of legislators and another that would create new health care retirement benefits for some state employees and elected...
Judge Orders $23 Million Payment to Lawyers After Hung Jury
Apr 25 2007 // A judge in Florida has ordered Motorola Inc. to pay $22.9 million in attorneys fees and costs to lawyers for a now-defunct technology company, months after a trade secrets lawsuit ended in a hung jury. Circuit Judge Leroy...
Real Estate Firms Call for Renewal of Federal Terror Reinsurance
Apr 25 2007 // If the federal government’s terrorism insurance program were allowed to expire, private market terrorism insurance coverage would become largely unavailable and unaffordable, and the gears of commercial real estate...
