Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Conn. Phone-y Drivers Could Be Called Upon to Pay Bigger Fines
Jan 19 2007 // Connecticut lawmakers are considering higher fines for people who talk on their handheld cell phones while driving. More than a year after the state’s cell phone ban took effect, lawmakers say they’re concerned...
Supreme Court Won’t Hear IBM Pension, Worker Retaliation Cases
Jan 19 2007 // The Supreme Court this week refused to consider an appeal brought by a group of IBM Corp. employees who accused the company of age discrimination when it altered its pension plan. The lawsuit could have cost the company...
Fla. House and Senate Expected to Meet Through Weekend to Merge Bills
Jan 19 2007 // Laboring to comply with Gov. Charlie Crist’s call for lowering Florida insurance costs by at least 25 percent during a quick, seven-day special session, both the House and Senate have passed bills promising to do...
Delaware Moves Swiftly to Enact Major Workers’ Comp Reform
Jan 18 2007 // The Delaware Senate and House moved swiftly in the past week to pass a bill containing major reforms of the state’s workers’ compensation system and Gov. Ruth Ann Miller immediately signed the reforms into...
Sen. Ensign Introduces Federal Malpractice Award Cap Legislation
Jan 17 2007 // Senator John Ensign, R-Nev., has introduced the Medical Care Access Protection (MCAP) Act of 2007, which would set a cap on non-economic damages in medcial mapractice lawsuits. “Medical liability reform works, and...
Virginia Bill Would Require Notice When Personal Data Is Lost or Stolen
Jan 16 2007 // Two Virginia lawmakers said this week that they will introduce legislation requiring government agencies and businesses to notify Virginians if their personal information is lost or stolen. Del. Robert Brink, D-Arlington,...
Fla. Lawmakers Face Balancing Act in This Week’s Insurance Session
Jan 15 2007 // Florida lawmakers wish they could simply outlaw hurricanes. That would solve the state’s insurance crisis. Unfortunately, changing the weather seems easier than what legislators have on their hands. As they return to...
Congress Prepares to Tackle Global Warming Legislation
Jan 15 2007 // Potential presidential rivals Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama are joining with newly independent Sen. Joe Lieberman on a plan they say would reduce global-warming gases by two-thirds over the...
Tenn. Gov. Bredesen Names Newman as Insurance Commissioner
Jan 15 2007 // Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has named a Nashville attorney, Leslie Shechter Newman, as commissioner of the Department of Commerce and Insurance. She succeeds Paula Flowers, who recently resigned. Newman is a partner...
California Hosts Hearing on Workers’ Comp Medical Fee Schedule
Jan 12 2007 // California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation will be holding a public hearing on the Official Medical Fee Schedule – Physician Fee Schedule regulations on Jan. 24 in Los Angeles. The public hearing has...
Lawmakers Pushing FEMA to Speed Up Aid for Colorado Plains
Jan 12 2007 // Colorado lawmakers are trying to put pressure on the federal government to speed up aid to ranchers and county governments digging out from back-to-back blizzards on the southeastern plains. Sens. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and...
Oregon Proposal on Auto Insurance Surcharge Losing Support
Jan 11 2007 // With his proposed surcharge on auto insurance going nowhere fast, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski is pressing state lawmakers to find another way to fund 139 additional state troopers so the state can have 24-hour patrol...
Judge Orders 83 Katrina Claims Cases, Including Sen. Lott’s, to Mediation
Jan 11 2007 // A federal judge on Wednesday ordered into mediation dozens of lawsuits policyholders filed against insurance companies after Hurricane Katrina. Several of the cases sent to mediation, which accuse the insurance companies...
Fla. Senate Proposal Would Give Citizens Customers Relief
Jan 10 2007 // Customers of the state’s largest insurer, Citizens Property, would be spared a recent proposed 55 percent increase and see their rates frozen for a year under a massive bill proposed Monday by a state legislative...
Ind. Insurer Pulls Out of State Over Regulatory Action
Jan 10 2007 // An Indiana-based insurer is pulling out of West Virginia, saying regulatory action taken against it by the state forced the decision. Medical Savings Insurance of Indianapolis notified customers this month that it will not...
Dakotas Senators Push for Permanent Disaster Aid Program
Jan 10 2007 // Senators from the Dakotas are pushing for a permanent program to pay farmers and ranchers who have suffered devastating crop losses. North Dakota Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad, both Democrats, and South Dakota...
S&P Assigns ‘BBB’ Rating to Catlin Debt
Jan 9 2007 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it “has assigned its ‘BBB’ long-term preliminary ratings to the proposed U.S. dollar-denominated, perpetual, subordinated, callable,...
Wis. Boasts Longest Serving Lawmaker in the Nation
Jan 9 2007 // Fred Risser jokes that he’s been in the Wisconsin Legislature so long, the state is tearing down buildings that he voted to construct. The Madison Democrat officially became the nation’s longest serving out of...
Utah Bill Would Mandate Insurance Pay for Gastric Bypass
Jan 9 2007 // Insurance companies would be required to cover gastric bypass surgery for morbidly obese residents under a bill the Utah Legislature will consider in the session that begins Jan. 15. A 386 pound man, Jeff Haaga, urged Rep....
Former California Lawmaker Gets High-Paying Appointment
Jan 8 2007 // Former California Sen. Liz Figueroa of Fremont, who lost a bid for her party’s nomination for lieutenant governor in June, will be paid $114,191 annually as a member of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals...
