Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Insurers and Climate Change: The Truth is More Complicated than the Sound Bytes

May 24 2013 // As an insurance guy who has been on both sides of the climate change debate (I’ve worked for organizations full of climate change skeptics and now head one that believes it’s an important public policy issue)...

No New Federal Funds Needed for Oklahoma Tornado Recovery

May 24 2013 // Top U.S. lawmakers and officials said that the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the wake of the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma.The government has more than $11 billion...

Judge Recuses Herself from West Virginia University Degree Lawsuit

May 24 2013 // U.S. District Judge Irene Keeley has disqualified herself from hearing a lawsuit filed over a 6-year-old degree scandal at West Virginia University, citing a federal statute that requires judges to step aside if their...

EU Lawmakers Back French Demands to Limit U.S. Trade Talks

May 24 2013 // European Union lawmakers voted on Thursday to limit the scope of a proposed free-trade deal between Europe and the United States, backing French demands to leave out culture and potentially irritating Washington.The...

Illinois Lawmakers Seek Disaster Declaration in 16 Counties

May 23 2013 // Illinois’ congressional delegation has asked President Obama to add 16 Illinois counties to the list of those eligible to receive disaster aid after last month’s flooding.The letter was sent to support a...

Insurers, Banks Leveraging Trade Talks to Change Dodd-Frank

May 23 2013 // U.S. bankers and insurers are trying to use trade deals, which can trump existing legislation, to weaken parts of the Dodd-Frank Act designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.While the companies say they...

Michigan Democrats Lay Out Auto Insurance Bills

May 22 2013 // Detroit’s Democratic state House Caucus is laying out an effort to change Michigan’s auto insurance policies.The package of legislation was revealed during a news conference in Detroit. Republicans control the...

Connecticut Court Rules That Lawyers Can’t Be Sued for Fraud

May 21 2013 // The state Supreme Court has ruled in an ex-NFL player’s case that Connecticut lawyers can’t be sued for fraud for their conduct in court cases because of a centuries-old legal doctrine.The court’s 5-1...

Insurer Group Mostly Happy with Missouri Legislative Session

May 21 2013 // The Missouri General Assembly made big strides this year towards modernizing how policyholders can access information associated with their insurance policy, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of...

Bill Ensures Paid Family Leave For California Workers

May 21 2013 // California businesses would be prohibited from firing or retaliating against employees who take advantage of the state’s paid family leave program under a job-protection bill moving through the Legislature.The...

D.C. Lobbyist Gannon to Head Federal Affairs for Farmers Insurance

May 20 2013 // Washington, D.C. lobbyist Matt Gannon was named head of federal affairs at Farmers Insurance.Gannon replaces Mike Moran, who left Los Angeles, Calif.-based Farmers to take a position with Zurich North America as assistant...

Texas, Oklahoma Battle Opioids With Legislation

May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ CompIn the South Central region, Texas and Oklahoma are two states...

New York, Pennsylvania Rank High for Opioids Among Injured Workers

May 20 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ CompThe epidemic of opioid abuse and its impact on workers’...

Motorcycle Group Holds Power in Wisconsin Helmet Debate

May 20 2013 // Wisconsin is coming off its deadliest year for motorcyclists in a generation, but lawmakers are considering no new helmet laws.Three in four of those riders who were killed did not wear a helmet. But Wisconsin hasn’t...

House Pushes for More Economic Analysis of Securities Rules

May 20 2013 // A divided U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a Republican-sponsored bill that would force federal securities regulators to conduct more economic analysis before adopting rules for Wall Street.The bill, which is...

New Lawsuit Filed Against West Virginia University in Degree Scandal

May 20 2013 // Two former business school deans caught up in a master’s degree scandal six years ago are suing West Virginia University again, arguing the school has ignored its obligation to repair their tarnished...

The Time is Now for Agent Licensing Reform

May 20 2013 // Excitement is building for critical legislation, the “National Association of Registered Agents & Brokers (NARAB II) Reform Act.” The Independent Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”)...

Montana Enacts Insurance Compact Legislation

May 20 2013 // Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has made Montana the 43rd state to join the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission. Bullock’s state joined the IIPRC upon his signing of Senate Bill 28. The IIPRC is a...

California Surplus Lines: LLC Bill Thriving

May 20 2013 // Among a horde of bills wending its way through California’s Legislature, there’s an innocuous looking bill with simple language to change a few words in existing law that could have a great deal of meaning to...

Florida Lawmakers Approve Medical Malpractice Reform

May 20 2013 // In a victory for medical malpractice insurers and physicians, Florida lawmakers have approved a series of tort reforms that among other things will require expert witnesses testifying against physicians in a malpractice...