Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Montana Judge Approves $73M Punitive Award Against Hyundai

Sep 23 2014 // Hyundai Motor Co. must pay $73 million in punitive damages to the families of two Montana teenagers killed in 2011 crash blamed on a steering defect, a judge said.Lake County District Judge Deborah Kim Christopher rejected...

NYC Council Announces Climate-Change Legislation

Sep 22 2014 // New York’s City Council proposed a package of bills last Friday, Sept. 19, to slash greenhouse gas emissions, shrink the carbon footprint of city operations and reduce the number of cars on the road.The legislation,...

Louisiana Public Worker Health Insurance Program Hemorrhaging Cash

Sep 22 2014 // Despite sweeping changes enacted by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration, the health insurance program for state workers and public school employees will have to use $88 million from its reserve fund to cover its costs...

Franchisee Business Investments Would be Protected by California Bill

Sep 22 2014 // When Kathryn Slater-Carter learned her family would lose $1.5 million after McDonald’s Corp. did not renew the franchise agreement on one of their restaurants in the San Francisco suburbs, she tried for a second time...

Declarations

Sep 22 2014 // Stormy Relations“Storm surge and wind-driven waves flooded homes and moved them off their foundations in Kapoho, Hawaii County.” —Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie describing the damaging force of the tropical...

The Problem with Domestic Excess and Surplus Lines Insurers

Sep 22 2014 // It has been more than five years since states, beginning with Illinois, began to enact laws permitting the formation and licensing of domestic excess and surplus lines insurers. To date, these initiatives have gotten very...

Workers’ Comp Loss Costs Declining Again in Oklahoma

Sep 22 2014 // For the second straight year, workers’ compensation loss costs used by insurers to determine rates for employers will show an overall decrease in Oklahoma.The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) has...

Once Again, Texas Lawmakers Asked to Do Something about Windstorm Insurer

Sep 22 2014 // What to do about Texas’ wind insurer of last resort? That’s the question being asked again of Texas lawmakers in advance of the coming legislative session.In a surprise visit to a Senate Business & Commerce...

Judge Approves $2.9 Million West Virginia Chemical Spill Deal

Sep 19 2014 // A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a $2.9 million settlement that would benefit 300,000 people whose water was contaminated in a January chemical spill.Judge Ronald Pearson filed the order this past Tuesday in U.S....

TNC Battle Ends With Gov. Brown’s Signature

Sep 18 2014 // Gov. Jerry Brown has lent his signature to compromise legislation that clarifies how and when transportation network companies are commercially insured.Sponsored by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, A.B. 2293, was...

Prop. 103 vs. Self-driving Cars Revving up in California

Sep 17 2014 // Way back in 1988 it probably seemed like the idea of self-driving vehicles was about as far off as flying cars or hovercraft.That was the year California voters enacted Proposition 103, giving among other things an...

Judge: Michigan City not Liable for Post-Flood Decline in Property Values

Sep 17 2014 // A judge has ruled that Traverse City isn’t responsible for declines in property values that could be linked to officials’ decision to remove a northern Michigan dam.The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports...

North Carolina Touts Strong First Year with Captives

Sep 17 2014 // In less than a year since its captive-enabling legislation went into effect, North Carolina says it is making progress towards its goal of becoming a leading captive domicile.To date, the North Carolina Department of...

Update: Syncora, Detroit Settle; Judge Pauses Bankruptcy Trial Again

Sep 17 2014 // U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes ordered a week-long break in Detroit’s bankruptcy trial on Sept. 16, giving the last major objector to the city’s restructuring plan time to rework its case.The hearing will...

House Passes Measure to Ease Insurance Capital Standards Under Dodd-Frank

Sep 17 2014 // The Federal Reserve would get more flexibility to set separate capital standards for systemically important insurance companies under legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.The measure, adopted yesterday...

Self-driving Cars Could Require Overhaul of Insurance Regulation

Sep 16 2014 // What is an autonomous vehicle? As demonstrated in a Sept. 15 California Department of Insurance informational hearing, that’s a misleadingly simple question.Regulators’ attempt to stay in front of the curve, by...

The Problem with Domestic Excess & Surplus Lines Insurers

Sep 16 2014 // It has been more than five years since states, beginning with Illinois, began to enact laws permitting the formation and licensing of domestic excess and surplus lines insurers. To date, these initiatives have gotten very...

London Financial Leaders Weigh Risks of Scotland Shock

Sep 12 2014 // As Scotland stares history in the face, London’s financial guardians are preparing for their worst-case scenario.Six days before a referendum that could see Scotland ending its 307-year political bond with the United...

Dewhurst to Lawmakers: How About Shutting Down Texas Windstorm Insurer?

Sep 11 2014 // Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has asked state lawmakers to consider shutting down a windstorm insurance provider for coastal Texans.Dewhurst asked a state Senate committee to look at phasing out the Texas Windstorm...

How Strong Is Florida’s ‘Revived’ Homeowners Market?

Sep 11 2014 // As Florida seeks to revive its private home insurance market after almost a decade without a hurricane, homeowners are pouring $6 billion a year in premiums into a new generation of small, in-state insurance companies with...