Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Virginia Laws Address Vicious Dogs, Underage Drinking
Jul 5 2006 // Owners of dangerous dogs face tougher penalties and adults who serve booze to underage guests are targeted under new state laws taking effect in Virginia. Although the 2006 General Assembly was dominated by a budget...
R.I. Ups Breathalyzer Penalties
Jul 5 2006 // Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri will sign legislation today eliminating what some claim is a major loophole in the state’s drunk driving laws. The new law increases the penalties for those who refuse to...
Las Cruces Legislator Wants More Oversight of State Insurance
Jul 5 2006 // A Las Cruces lawmaker is vowing to reintroduce legislation that would increase oversight of New Mexico’s Insurance Division. Democratic Sen. Mary Kay Papen said a possible conflict of interest created by Eric...
News Briefs
Jul 4 2006 // EU Leaders Fiddle While Europe Burns: The crisis in the European Union, provoked when French and Dutch voters rejected the EU Constitution, is being largely ignored by Europe’s leaders. Instead of a bit of...
Standard & Poor’s Annual Insurance Conference
Jul 4 2006 // Despite recent adversity and scrutiny faced by the insurance industry, financial ratings for companies appear on the upswing. “For the first time that I can remember we have a period where none of the sectors that we...
Editor’s Note: Exemption protection
Jul 3 2006 // The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last month received testimony on whether to continue the insurance antitrust exemption contained in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act. This law placed responsibility for insurance...
Fraud on the farm
Jul 3 2006 // GAO: The USDA should do more to control fraud in the nation’s crop insurance program Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency has taken steps to improve its procedures and processes...
Appeals Court rules insurer’s indemnity obligation is joint and several
Jul 3 2006 // The Court of Appeals of Oregon has decided that an insurance company’s indemnity obligation to its policyholders is joint and several, not pro-rata, in environmental liability insurance coverage case. In Cacade Corp....
Federal insurance antitrust exemption: Insurer, consumer friend or foe?
Jul 3 2006 // Congress opened debate on the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, with some larger insurers indicating a willingness to relinquish the exemption in exchange for regulatory reform that would...
Washington’s Ethel Adams legislation takes effect
Jul 3 2006 // Legislation changing the uninsured motorist law in Washington that is named in honor of accident victim Ethel Adams has taken effect. Adams was injured in an automobile accident in 2005 when her car was hit during an...
News Currents
Jul 3 2006 // Michigan helmet repeal legislation nixed by governor Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed a bill on June 23 that would have repealed the state of Michigan’s 37-year-old mandatory helmet law. The proposed law change...
Quotations
Jul 3 2006 // “During the session the stability of the insurance marketplace was threatened by legislation that would have saddled insurers with excessive regulation, increased litigation and significantly impaired their ability...
Editor’s Note: Exemption protection
Jul 3 2006 // The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last month received testimony on whether to continue the insurance antitrust exemption contained in the 1945 McCarran-Ferguson Act. This law gave states responsibility for insurance...
8 Report faults FEMA on hurricane assistance
Jul 3 2006 // GAO estimates around $1 billion ‘improperly’ handed out 10 Let the towing begin Thousands of abandoned cars to be removed in New Orleans 10 IIAT presents awards, installs new officers Association holds 109th...
Federal insurance antitrust exemption: Insurer, consumer friend or foe?
Jul 3 2006 // Congress opened debate on the insurance industry’s exemption from federal antitrust laws, with some larger insurers indicating a willingness to relinquish the exemption in exchange for regulatory reform that would...
Fraud on the farm
Jul 3 2006 // Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency has taken steps to improve its procedures and processes to address fraud, waste and abuse in selling servicing crop insurance policies, many flaws...
Golden State adopts new regulations to reduce worker injuries and death from high heat
Jul 3 2006 // California workers may soon be able to file for workers’ compensation if they become injured due to high heat. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has adopted a permanent heat stress...
Lawyers Overseeing Layers
Jul 3 2006 // No country has as many lawyers as the United States — more than 152,000 in California alone — three times as many as in all of France. Nor does any other country rely as heavily on the legal profession to order...
News Currents
Jul 3 2006 // Michigan helmet repeal legislation nixed by governor Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed a bill on June 23 that would have repealed the state of Michigan’s 37-year-old mandatory helmet law. The proposed law change...
Rising tide of lawsuits-EPLI
Jul 3 2006 // The reality of today’s workplace is that a wide variety of employee grievances may escalate, almost without warning, into costly lawsuits. Any time an employee objects to a company employment practice that is...
