Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
China’s Ant Group Issues Financial Self-Discipline Rules on Tighter Regulatory Oversight
Mar 12 2021 // BEIJING – China’s Ant Group flagged a set of financial self-discipline rules on Friday amid intense scrutiny on its activities by authorities and the country’s overall tightening of financial technology...
Lawmakers Hear New Pitch for Medical Marijuana Legislation in Nebraska
Mar 12 2021 // A Nebraska lawmaker who is a leading supporter of medical marijuana has warned her fellow senators that the issue will likely appear on the 2022 ballot if they don’t pass a legalization measure this year. Sen. Anna...
Arizona High Court Rules Man Can Sue for Privacy Breach
Mar 10 2021 // Warehouse store chain Costco can be sued for privacy violations by a Phoenix-area man who alleges a pharmacist joked with his ex-wife about an erectile dysfunction prescription he had twice canceled, the Arizona Supreme...
Irish Judges Back Guidelines for Personal Injury Awards to Cut Insurance, Legal Costs
Mar 8 2021 // DUBLIN – Ireland’s judges voted on Saturday to adopt new guidelines for personal injury claims that aim to reduce the size of awards for minor injuries and encourage early settlements as a way to reduce legal fees...
Judge Strikes Down Parts of Michigan Towing Law
Mar 8 2021 // A judge struck down portions of a Michigan towing law as unconstitutional after low-income Detroit residents shared extraordinary stories of high fees and frustration about the whereabouts of their vehicles. The case...
Judge Permits Suit Alleging Geico Overcharged Drivers During Pandemic
Mar 7 2021 // The auto insurer Geico Corp., a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., must face a proposed class action claiming it overcharged policyholders as the coronavirus pandemic led to less driving and fewer...
Judge: Exxon Mobil Must Pay $14.25M Penalty in Pollution Case
Mar 5 2021 // A federal judge has ordered Exxon Mobil to pay a $14.25 million civil penalty in an 11-year-old lawsuit alleging it violated the Clean Air Act for eight years at its flagship Baytown, Texas, refinery. In setting the...
‘Desperate’ Times: Stakeholders Urge Florida Lawmakers to Enact Insurance Reform
Mar 4 2021 // It’s the start of another Florida Legislative Session with a familiar theme — insurers pushing for reforms they say are needed to help the state’s distressed insurance market. Only this year the need is more...
Kansas Lawmakers Look to Extend COVID-19 Liability Shield for Businesses
Mar 4 2021 // Kansas lawmakers moved on March 2 to extend protections for businesses from lawsuits over COVID-19. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would give businesses an extra year of protection, until March 31,...
Florida Lawmakers Unveil $100M Plan to Tackle Climate Change, Sea Rise
Mar 1 2021 // Low-lying Florida, surrounded by the sea, is one of the most vulnerable U.S. states to ocean level rise driven by climate change. State Republican legislative leaders on Friday announced a $100 million-a-year plan to...
Crash Victims’ Families Seek Boeing CEO Testimony; Lawmakers Seek FAA Records
Mar 1 2021 // Relatives of victims of a Boeing Co. 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia that occurred five months after an Indonesian Lion Air disaster are stepping up pressure on the American planemaker and the federal government, according to a...
Judge Strikes Down Parts of Michigan Towing Law
Feb 26 2021 // A judge has struck down portions of a Michigan towing law as unconstitutional after low-income Detroit residents shared extraordinary stories of high fees and frustration about the whereabouts of their vehicles. The case...
Virginia Lawmakers Advance Consumer Data Protection Act
Feb 26 2021 // The Virginia General Assembly is advancing legislation that allows Virginia consumers more protection with their online data, though opponents say the measure does not include the ability for people to file private...
Judge Dismisses Georgia Lawsuit by Transgender Fire Chief Over Technicality
Feb 26 2021 // A federal judge has dismissed a discrimination lawsuit by a transgender fire chief who led a rural Georgia city’s fire department for more than a decade, then got fired 18 months after first coming to work as a...
Texas Lawmakers Told Insurers Want ‘Seat at Table’ As Power Blackout Probe Begins
Feb 25 2021 // Texas state legislators on Thursday begin digging into the causes of deadly power blackouts that left millions shivering in the dark as frigid temperatures caught its grid operator and utilities ill-prepared for...
Judge Advances Multidistrict COVID Business Interruption Case Against Society Insurance
Feb 24 2021 // A federal judge denied Society Insurance’s motions to dismiss three “bellwether” lawsuits filed by hospitality businesses that were denied coverage for revenue lost because of COVID-19 public health...
California Lawmakers Introduce Proposal to Ban Fracking by 2027
Feb 23 2021 // New legislation would ban all fracking in California by 2027, taking aim at the powerful oil and gas industry in the state already planning to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Progressive California has long...
Judge Tosses Wife’s Suit Blaming Employer for Her Husband’s Covid
Feb 22 2021 // A federal judge tossed out a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that sought to hold an employer responsible for a worker’s spouse getting sick with Covid-19. U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney in San Francisco on Monday...
Indiana Governor Signs COVID-19 Liability Shield Legislation
Feb 22 2021 // Indiana businesses and others now have broad protections from lawsuits by people blaming them for contracting COVID-19 under a new state law. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on Feb. 18 signed the bill that he and GOP...
UK Court Rules Uber Drivers Should Be Classed as Workers, in Blow to Business Model
Feb 19 2021 // LONDON – A group of Uber drivers are entitled to worker rights such as the minimum wage, Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday in a blow to the ride-hailing service that has ramifications for millions of others...
