Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Florida PIP Report Shows Reduction in Rates and Fraud

Jan 9 2015 // Florida’s attempt to lower the cost of personal injury protection (PIP) automobile coverage is making progress as insurers’ rates have declined due in part to lower losses and fewer fraudulent claims.The...

House Passes Hike in Obamacare Requirement to 40-Hours

Jan 9 2015 // The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to ease Obamacare’s health insurance requirements for employers by approving the first of an expected series of bills aimed at weakening the overall...

Ballinger on Growth, Professionalism in Texas Surplus Lines Market

Jan 8 2015 // Phil Ballinger retired at the end of December 2014 as executive director of the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLSOT), a post he’s held for more than two decades.During his tenure at SLSOT, the organization...

How States Rate on Insurance Regulation, ‘A’ to ‘F’

Jan 8 2015 // Vermont gets a grade of “A+” and California and North Carolina get grades of “F” in the annual report card on state insurance regulation issued by the free market think tank, The R Street...

Missouri Fines Insurer Nearly $162K for Misstatements to Policyholders

Jan 7 2015 // The Missouri Department of Insurance announced that a regulatory settlement agreement has been reached with Humana Insurance Co. under which the company will pay a $161,800 fine to the Missouri State School Fund.Missouri...

House Passes TRIA Renewal; Senate Leader Vows Quick Action Also

Jan 7 2015 // The U.S. House of Representatives voted to reauthorize a government backstop for insurers’ losses from acts of terrorism after lawmakers let the measure expire last month.The legislation, which will extend the...

Republicans Target Obamacare Part-Time Worker Provision

Jan 7 2015 // Republicans, newly in charge of the U.S. House and Senate, begin their campaign to dismantle Obamacare with a vote this week to ease the law’s requirement that large employers give health insurance to full-time...

West Virginia Schedules Storage Tank Regulation Hearing

Jan 5 2015 // West Virginia regulators are taking public comment and holding a hearing on a proposed rule that regulates aboveground storage tanks.The Department of Environmental Protection has opened comment on the proposed rule aiming...

Oklahoma Bill Targets Texting While Driving

Jan 2 2015 // Oklahoma Sen. Ron Sharp has filed legislation banning the use of cell phones or other handheld devices to text, email or call while driving in his state.Senate Bill 67 would make it a misdemeanor to use a handheld device...

More Uninsured Drivers Likely To Be Towed Under New Utah Law

Jan 2 2015 // Uninsured drivers on Utah roadways can expect to have their cars impounded on the spot under a new law that took effect Thursday.Utah police have had the option to pull over an uninsured driver and impound their car since...

Idaho City Issues Cease and Desist Letter to Uber

Jan 2 2015 // Boise, Idaho officials say Uber ignored its promise to not charge for driver services within city limits while negotiating an operating agreement for the rideshare company.The city sent Uber a cease and desist letter...

Debate Heats Up Over Proposed Ridesharing Rules in Massachusetts

Jan 2 2015 // Taxicab drivers and owners decried proposed Massachusetts regulations on popular transportation companies like Uber and Lyft, while rideshare drivers defended their jobs at a packed and heated public hearing...

U.S. Drone Regulations Delayed

Jan 1 2015 // The United States missed a year-end deadline for publishing new rules on remote-control aircraft, delaying an eagerly awaited step toward using drones in everything from farming to package delivery.Businesses have been...

Connecticut’s Boating Laws Could Be Updated in ’15

Dec 29 2014 // A legislative delegation moved by the August tubing death of a Greenwich High School honors student wants the Connecticut’s General Assembly to take a closer look at the state’s boating laws.The four Greenwich...

Florida Appeals Court Ruling Opens Door for Cruise Line Malpractice Suits

Dec 24 2014 // Pasquale Vaglio, a retired New York City policeman and Korean War veteran, was on the cruise of a lifetime with 18 family members in the summer of 2001 aboard Royal Caribbean’s “Explorer of the Seas.”...

Iowa DPS Report: Wait On Drone Regulation

Dec 24 2014 // Iowa should take a wait-and-see approach to regulating unmanned aerial vehicles because of their huge potential for positive uses in business and government, the Iowa Department of Public Safety advises in a new report.The...

Businesses Push for Terrorism Insurance Vote When Congress Returns

Dec 24 2014 // Lobbyists for insurers, real estate financiers and businesses launched into action last week to urge quick renewal of a terrorism insurance program in 2015 after U.S. lawmakers left it to expire at the end of this...

India’s Prime Minister Plans Executive Order to Allow More Foreign Investment

Dec 24 2014 // Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to pressure Indian lawmakers into approving two key economic policy changes a day after a parliament session ended without a vote on the bills.Modi will use an executive order known as...

Report Calls for More Study of N.H. Workers’ Comp Costs

Dec 23 2014 // A governor’s commission aimed at addressing New Hampshire’s high workers’ compensation costs recommended no significant changes to state laws in a new report and instead suggested gathering more data and...

Marijuana Ban in Washington County Upheld By Judge

Dec 23 2014 // A superior court judge on Monday agreed with an opinion issued by the Washington Attorney General’s Office earlier this year, concluding that nothing in a pot legalization initiative overrides local...