Latest Politics Headlines

All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Pennsylvania Senate Finally Approves Ario as Insurance Commissioner

Jul 7 2008 // The Pennsylvania Senate in a July 3 roll call vote unanimously approved Joel S. Ario to become the state’s insurance commissioner, a year after Gov. Ed Rendell first nominated the former chief insurance regulator in...

Republican Brady Quits Government Jobs for Delaware Insurance Race

Jul 3 2008 // Republican House attorney John Brady has resigned from his General Assembly position to prepare for his campaign for state insurance commissioner. Brady stepped down so to avoid any conflict of interest or concerns about...

North Carolina Senate Approves Motorist Liability Coverage Measures

Jun 26 2008 // A North Carolina bill passed through the Senate Commerce Committee on June 24 that would require insurers to notify consumers of their choice to buy more than the required minimum uninsured motorist and underinsured...

California Senate Approves Agent-Broker, Spyware Bills

Jun 20 2008 // California’s Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance Committee approved two bills — one allowing insurance cmpanies to require spyware to be installed in vehicles, and the other clarifying the duties of an agent...

Louisiana Senate Approves Higher Car Insurance Minimums

Jun 19 2008 // The Louisiana Senate has agreed to a bill that would raise auto insurance rates in 2010 for more than one million Louisiana motorists by increasing the minimum liability coverage required for drivers. Louisiana law...

McCain, GOP Governors Split Over Disaster Fund

Jun 19 2008 // A congressional proposal to create a national “catastrophe fund” to help states recover from natural disasters has put Republican presidential hopeful John McCain at odds with a handful of GOP governors —...

California Senate Considers Agent-Broker Bill, Consumer Group Challenges Legislation

Jun 17 2008 // Three pieces of legislation will be heard in the Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance committee on Wednesday, June 17, 2008. Assemblyman Jared Huffman’s AB 2800 would allow insurance companies to require drivers to...

Alabama Insurance Agent in Runoff for Congressional Seat

Jun 16 2008 // Huntsville, Ala. insurance executive Wayne Parker and Huntsville attorney Cheryl Baswell Guthrie will be in a runoff for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District seat. Parker nearly won without a runoff...

South Carolina Senate Confirms New Public Safety Director

Jun 6 2008 // Veteran law enforcement officer Mark Keel said he is ready to get started as the new director of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, an agency under fire recently for allegations of trooper misconduct. Keel, a...

Alabama Insurance Exec in Runoff for 5th Congressional District Seat

Jun 5 2008 // Huntsville, Ala. insurance executive Wayne Parker and Huntsville attorney Cheryl Baswell Guthrie will be in a runoff for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District seat. Parker nearly won without a runoff...

North Carolina Senate Panel OKs Millions for University Campus Safety

Jun 5 2008 // A North Carolina Senate panel has approved a plan to send more than $29 million to the University of North Carolina system to improve campus security. The plan approved by a Senate judiciary committee June 3 would help the...

Louisiana Minimum Auto Insurance Bill Stalls in Senate

Jun 2 2008 // A bill that would raise mandatory minimum auto insurance levels stalled in a Senate committee when its chairman declined to break a tie vote. Louisiana law now requires car and truck owners to have “10-20-10”...

R.I. Senate Weighs System for Tracking Medical Mistakes

May 30 2008 // A Rhode Island Senate committee plans to vote on creating a new system for tracking medical mistakes and near mistakes after brain surgeons at Rhode Island Hospital operated three times on the wrong side of patients’...

Feds to Cover Denver Police Insurance Costs During Democratic National Convention

May 30 2008 // Denver city officials say the federal government will cover $1.85 million worth of insurance the city bought for outside police who help with the Democratic National Convention. Denver officials said Tuesday the insurance...

Arizona Senate Debates Ban on Texting While Driving

May 29 2008 // Arizona legislators are debating whether to ban texting while driving. Supporters say it would “send a message” about safety while critics call it overkill when other distractions such as eating and changing...

Over Protests of Insurers, Businesses, La. Senate OKs Prosthetics Bill

May 29 2008 // Beginning next year, health insurance policies written in Louisiana would have to provide at least $50,000 worth of coverage for those who need artificial limbs, under legislation approved 26-7 by the state Senate. There...

New York Senate Bill Bans Texting While Driving

May 28 2008 // The New York Senate has passed legislation that would prohibit drivers from reading, writing or sending text messages while driving in the Empire State. The law modifies earlier legislation that bans cell phone use while...

Guns in Locked Cars at Workplace OK under Louisiana Senate Bill

May 23 2008 // Employees in Louisiana would have the right to keep a legally owned firearm locked in their car in a parking lot at their place of work, if the House goes along with a bill approved 28-4 in the state Senate. Senator Joe...

Oklahoma Senate Approves Measure to Curb Copper Theft Epidemic

May 20 2008 // The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation intended to curb the growing problem of copper theft. Senate Bill 1856, authored by Sen. Cliff Branan, R-Oklahoma City, would increase fines and punishments for the crime of...

Senate Rejects Adding Wind Coverage to Flood Insurance Program

May 19 2008 // The U.S. Senate officially rejected a bid by Gulf state senators to add wind coverage to the financially strapped federal flood insurance program. Lawmakers from Louisiana and Mississippi cited problems that occurred after...