Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Big Brains at Big ‘I’, Insurance Information Institute Give Their Take on 2014

Dec 11 2013 // Most economists are upbeat about next year, but just what does that mean for insurance agents in 2014?For independent agents 2013 was a year in which one entity forecasted their eventual demise, and for the rest of the...

Indiana Steelworkers Await High Court Ruling on Pay for Donning Protective Gear

Dec 10 2013 // A group of Indiana steelworkers is awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision on when the clock starts on their shifts at U.S. Steel Gary Works.The nation’s highest court recently heard arguments in a case filed by eight...

Judge Blocks BP Investors from Suing as Group Over Losses

Dec 9 2013 // BP Plc’s U.S. investors can’t pursue as a group claims that the company inflated its shares with misleading statements before and after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a judge ruled, citing a recent Supreme Court...

Glass-Steagall Firewall Could Return If Volcker Rule Disappoints

Dec 9 2013 // Five U.S. agencies will finish the Volcker rule tomorrow after more than three years of Wall Street resistance to its limits on trading and investing. Lawmakers and their allies who want to rein in big banks are ready to...

AIA Supports Curbing Physician-Dispensed Medications in Penn. WC System

Dec 6 2013 // The American Insurance Association (AIA) submitted a statement Wednesday to the Pennsylvania House Labor Committee, in support of state legislation aimed at controlling costs associated with physician dispensing of...

Proposal to Raise Gift Allowance from Lobbyists Raises Concern in Oklahoma

Dec 6 2013 // A plan to increase by 500 percent the amount in meals and other gifts that a lobbyist can give to a legislator in Oklahoma each year is raising concerns from a public watchdog group and some state legislators over the...

Obama Product Safety Chief Tenenbaum Returns to South Carolina

Dec 6 2013 // After four years in Washington as the nation’s products safety czar, Inez Tenenbaum is coming home to the Columbia area, her life changed in ways large and small.“Now I’m always giving advice unsolicited...

House Passes Bill to Curb Patent Lawsuits

Dec 5 2013 // The U.S. House passed legislation to rein in some patent lawsuits that technology companies say could reduce the time they spend fighting such suits in court.The vote today was 325-91, with 27 Republicans and 64 Democrats...

Lawsuits Challenging Obamacare Cite Religion, Tax Issues

Dec 5 2013 // Hours after the University of Notre Dame filed a religious challenge to the U.S. health-care overhaul in Indiana federal court, a judge in Washington heard arguments in a lawsuit assailing tax provisions of the statute.The...

Flood of Regulations Coming from Obama Administration

Dec 5 2013 // Over the next 12 months, the Obama administration is due to issue regulations governing everything from e-cigarettes to smoke-stack emissions in what experts predict will be a second-term rush to put rules in place before...

Left and Right Are Both Wrong About Regulation: Viewpoint

Dec 5 2013 // In 1981, President Ronald Reagan instructed federal agencies that they could issue regulations only after demonstrating that their benefits justified their costs. With modest changes, Reagan’s successors, both...

Metro-North Crash Seen Thwarting Delay of Automatic Braking

Dec 4 2013 // The deadly train derailment in New York City may force railroads to install automatic brakes by 2015 and dash industry efforts to put off adding the technology by five years.The Metro-North Railroad wreck may persuade...

Missouri Sued Over Limits on Health Reform Advice

Dec 3 2013 // A coalition of medical organizations and health care advocates has sued Missouri over its requirement that only state-licensed counselors can serve as navigators in a program aimed at helping consumers sign up for coverage...

Judge Orders Mississippi Greyhound Bus Claim Update

Dec 3 2013 // Greyhound Bus Lines Inc. and a woman who sued the company over a 2008 accident in south Mississippi have until Friday to advise the judge of any settlement they reach in the case.Megan Clancy sued Greyhound in Jackson...

Local Gas Drilling Laws Get a Key Airing in Ohio

Dec 3 2013 // A closely watched lawsuit in Ohio is asking a question that’s burning in cities and towns throughout shale country: Can regulations in states eager for the jobs and tax revenues that come with gas and oil drilling...

Declarations

Dec 2 2013 // Something for Nothing“Sometimes a few bad employees try to get something for nothing, scamming the people we serve. This task force will help prevent those instances.” —New York State’s Broome County...

Bills to Delay Flood Insurance Rate Hikes Stalled

Dec 2 2013 // Efforts to delay implementation of changes in the federal flood insurance program have run into roadblocks on both sides of Capitol Hill.The leaders of the House Financial Services Committee say they are standing behind...

Florida Attracts Interest from Private Flood Insurance Providers

Dec 2 2013 // With increases in federal flood insurance rates looming, two insurance providers have said they are prepared to sell private flood policies in Florida.Their actions come as state officials are trying to provide guidelines...

Mass. Regulator Offers Update on Industry Developments, Boston Bombing Claims

Nov 27 2013 // Massachusetts’ top insurance regulator recently spoke about the state of the insurance industry in Massachusetts, with topics ranging from the auto insurance marketplace and the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform...

Judge Orders Sriracha Plant to Partially Shut Down

Nov 27 2013 // A judge ruled Tuesday that the factory that manufactures of the trendy and very delicious Sriracha hot sauce must partially shut down after neighbors complained of the spicy smells it was producing.Judge Robert H....