Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oregon Senate Extends Period of Product Liability
May 28 2009 // The Oregon Senate has approved a bill that would give Oregonians harmed by defective products more time to take legal action. Currently, Oregon residents must sue within eight years of when the product was originally...
Massachusetts Senate Budget Bans Texting while Driving
May 26 2009 // The Massachusetts Senate approved an amendment banning all Internet use while driving as part of its version of the state’s upcoming budget. Drivers would be banned from sending text messages, e-mailing or reading...
Oklahoma Senate Approves Workers’ Compensation Judge Plan
May 21 2009 // Republicans have pushed another issue to a statewide vote to counter a gubernatorial veto – this time a plan to require Senate confirmation of Workers’ Compensation Court judges. The Oklahoma Senate gave final...
Republican Senate President to Run for Florida CFO Post
May 20 2009 // Florida Senate President Jeff Atwater says he’s running for chief financial officer (CFO). The North Palm Beach Republican filed as a candidate Monday with the Department of State. Just about a week ago, incumbent...
Republicans Explain Their Health Care Reform Plan
May 20 2009 // While President Obama may believe the stars are aligned for major health reform this year it is far from certain whether Congress will pass a bill that works. The groups that are most likely to unravel this effort are not...
Republican Health Care Reform Nixes Public Option, New Taxes
May 20 2009 // Congressional Republicans today unveiled a health care reform plan they hope will compete with what Democrats are planning to offer. U.S. Senators Tom Coburn, M.D., of Oklahoma, and Richard Burr, of North Carolina, along...
Delaware Senate Committee Rejects Anti-Discrimination Bill
May 15 2009 // The Delaware state Senate once again has blocked passage of a bill outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation in Delaware. The bill, which passed the House in March, was the subject of a hearing Wednesday by the...
Insurance Exchange, Mandate, Public Option Among Democrats’ Health Ideas
May 15 2009 // House Democrats are looking at big health care changes, including federal aid to help families earning up to $88,000 pay for insurance and a requirement that all must carry coverage. A document obtained by The Associated...
Texas Senate Passes Driver Education Bill
May 14 2009 // Drivers in Texas over the age of 18 but younger than 21 would have to take a driver’s education course before they could get a license, under a bill approved by the state Senate. Currently in the state, an adult...
AIG Leaders Grilled on Bailout Repay at Congressional Hearing
May 13 2009 // American International Group Inc. CEO Ed Liddy met some harsh criticism at a congressional hearing on Wednesday as lawmakers demanded answers on the taxpayer bailout of the giant insurer. Rep. Dennis Kucinich wagged his...
New Jersey Senate Tackles Two More Insurance Bills
May 8 2009 // The New Jersey Senate’s Commerce Committee is in the midst of vetting two key bills that would have significant impact on the Garden State’s insurance industry. One bill would create a create a financial...
TWIA’s Chair Langford Honored by Texas Senate
May 5 2009 // The Texas Senate honored James Langford, vice president of compliance, regulatory and government affairs for Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Companies, in a Senate Resolution. The Resolution was read on the Senate floor...
Texas Senate Passes Insurance Department ‘Sunset’ Bill
May 4 2009 // After a temporary block by Democrats in the Texas Senate, a bill allowing continuation of the Texas Department of Insurance passed the Senate and headed to the House of Representatives for deliberation. Sen. Glenn Hegar of...
Texas Senate Approves Windstorm Bill
May 4 2009 // The Texas Senate approved a new structure for the state’s depleted windstorm insurance fund last week, providing a combination of potential rate hikes, bonding and other revenue to ensure the account gets...
Florida Senate, House Seek to Close Property Insurance Legislation Gaps
Apr 29 2009 // The Florida House and Senate are trying informally to work out differences in bills to address the state’s property insurance crisis, including how much rates for more than one million customers of the state-backed...
Handsfree Cell Phone Bill Headed to Colorado Senate
Apr 29 2009 // A bill requiring Colorado drivers to use handsfree devices while talking on cell phones is headed to the Senate for a vote. The Senate Appropriations Committee backed House Bill 1094 on a 6-4 vote after exempting some...
Oklahoma Senate Rejects Attorney Fee Caps; Tort Reform Bill Still Alive
Apr 24 2009 // The Oklahoma Senate rejected a plan to cap plaintiff attorney fees, while voting to keep alive a Republican-sponsored bill to shake up the state’s civil justice system in an effort to curtail lawsuits. Senate...
Missouri Senate Scales Back Uninsured Driver Crackdown
Apr 23 2009 // Missouri senators have scaled back an effort to force people to get car insurance by limiting how much uninsured drivers could collect in court. A bill increasing the penalty for creating a fake insurance card received...
Despite Veto, Okla. Senate Vows to Send Work Comp Law to Voters
Apr 22 2009 // The Oklahoma State Senate has passed a referendum that would allow Oklahomans to vote next year on a proposal to require Senate approval of the governor’s workers’ compensation judicial nominees. The Senate...
Texas Senate OK’s Bill to Lower Standard of Proof in Asbestos Lawsuits
Apr 21 2009 // Handing a rare victory to personal injury trial lawyers, the Texas Senate recently passed legislation that would make it easier for certain people to recover damages after being exposed to asbestos. The bill, which passed...
