Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Senate Committee Advances PIP Bills
Apr 14 2011 // A pair of bills aimed at cracking down on the runaway fraud that has vexed automobile insurers in recent years moved through a key Senate panel this week. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee narrowly approved the...
Credit Raters Triggered Financial Crisis, Says Senate Report
Apr 14 2011 // Moody’s Corp. and Standard and Poor’s triggered the worst financial crisis in decades when they were forced to downgrade the inflated ratings they slapped on complex mortgage-backed securities, a U.S....
Senate Sends Repeal of Healthcare Law’s 1099 Tax Provision to Obama
Apr 5 2011 // In an 87-12 vote, the Senate has passed a repeal of the new IRS 1099 tax reporting provision contained in the major federal healthcare reform law. The bill — H.R.4, the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of...
Lawsuit Reform Measures Advance in Oklahoma House, Senate
Apr 4 2011 // Legislation in Oklahoma aimed at eliminating joint and several liability, requiring that juries be provided with information on the tax impact of potential awards, and capping noneconomic damages in lawsuits have advanced...
Montana Senate Passes Workers’ Comp Reform Bill
Mar 29 2011 // The Montana Senate has passed a workers’ compensation reform bill that supporters claim will bring nearly $100 million in savings its first year. The Senate passed HB 334 by a 45-5 vote in its third reading on March...
Montana Bill to Deny Workers’ Comp to Illegal Aliens Stalls in Senate Committee
Mar 28 2011 // A bill that would deny workers’ compensation to illegal immigrants who have jobs in Montana was tabled by a Senate committee after several insurers and businesses warned it would do more harm than good to...
Lawsuit Reform Measures Advance in Oklahoma House, Senate
Mar 24 2011 // Oklahoma state lawmakers seem to be serious about reforming the state’s tort environment. Legislation aimed at eliminating joint and several liability, requiring that juries be provided with information on the tax...
Florida Senate Moves to Curb Liability Suits Against Car Makers
Mar 17 2011 // The Florida Senate has approved a bill that would change the apportionment of damages in product liability cases so that a judge or jury must consider the fault of all parties. The bill is designed to shield or limit the...
Oklahoma Senate Approves Ban on Texting While Driving
Mar 17 2011 // The full Senate has given its support to a bill that would make it illegal to text while driving. State Sen. Jerry Ellis is the author of Senate Bill 146 which was approved on a vote of 32 to 9. “This isn’t a...
Missouri Senate Endorses Workers’ Comp Changes
Mar 17 2011 // Missouri senators have given first-round approval to legislation that restricts employees from suing co-workers over injuries incurred on the job. The legislation also expressly states that occupational diseases, such as...
Mississippi Senate Sends ATV Safety Bill to Governor
Mar 17 2011 // The Mississippi Senate has passed a bill requiring safety measures for young ATV riders, sending the bill to the governor for consideration. The bill would require riders and passengers under age 16 who ride on public land...
Republicans Target Dodd-Frank Reforms, Rating Firms’ Liability
Mar 15 2011 // Congressional Republicans on Wednesday will stage their first outright challenge to 2010’s Dodd-Frank financial regulation reforms with a fistful of bills favoring private equity firms, derivatives end-users and...
Business Lobby Critical of GOP Immigration Measure in Oklahoma
Mar 14 2011 // A quiet campaign by Oklahoma’s business community to head off tough new immigration legislation is causing an angry rift among Republicans in the Legislature, some of whom charge that voters’ desire for more...
Workers’ Comp Reform Package Approved by Full Oklahoma Senate
Mar 14 2011 // The full Oklahoma Senate has approved Senate Bill 878, a workers’ compensation bill authored by Sen. Patrick Anderson, R-Enid, and Sen. Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, the Senate announced. The bill was crafted in...
Alabama Senate Approves Auto Insurance Verification Database
Mar 11 2011 // The Alabama Senate has voted to set up a computer database that would allow county tag officials and law enforcement to instantly check whether a vehicle has liability insurance. The Senate voted 35-0 Wednesday for a bill...
Mississippi Senate Passes Auto Insurance Verification Bill
Mar 11 2011 // A bill designed to force compliance with Mississippi mandatory insurance laws passed this week in the Senate, and was among several proposals facing a legislative deadline. The bill would allow the state Department of...
Senate Passes Patent Reform, 95-5
Mar 10 2011 // The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to overhaul U.S. patent laws, backing a measure aimed at chipping away at a huge backlog of patent applications and offering cheaper alternatives to litigation. In a 95-5 vote, the...
Obama Administration Appeals Florida Judge’s Healthcare Ruling
Mar 8 2011 // The Obama administration Tuesday appealed a U.S. judge’s ruling in Florida that struck down its landmark healthcare overhaul law as unconstitutional because it required Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a...
Republican Flood Insurance Bill Gets Positive Initial Reception
Mar 8 2011 // A Republican draft of legislation to reform the federal flood insurance program would renew the program for five years, phase out most rate subsidies, tie coverage limits to the rate of inflation, vary the deductible by...
South Dakota Senate Panel Rejects Bill Challenging Insurer Subrogation
Mar 7 2011 // A bill aimed at changing South Dakota’s insurance law to give some injured people a better chance of receiving full compensation for their losses has been rejected by a state Senate panel. However, one of the...
