Latest Legislation Headlines

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

Mass. Health Insurance Base Rate Up 1.2% on Average for Third Quarter

May 1 2012 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) said this week that it is placing on file small-group health insurance base rates for the 2012 third quarter, with an average increase of just 1.2 percent.Fueled by base rate...

Oklahoma House Again Passes Severe Weather Liability Bill

May 1 2012 // Legislation approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives would eliminate liability for any entity or person providing access to a safe place during instances of severe weather, as long as they were acting in good...

Alabama Lawmakers Pass Tax-Free Weekend for Disaster Supplies

May 1 2012 // As Alabama prepares to observe the first anniversary of deadly tornadoes last April 27, the Legislature approved the creation of a tax-free weekend for buying disaster preparedness supplies. The bill by Republican Rep....

Bill Aims to Fix Problems with Medicare Set-Asides for Workers’ Compensation

May 1 2012 // The insurance industry is among the business and legal interests applauding legislation to resolve delays and inconsistencies in Medicare’s approval process for set-aside funds for injured workers’...

Judge: Montana City Must Pay $3M Judgment To Insurance Company In Lawsuit

Apr 30 2012 // A state judge has ruled the city of Bozeman in Montana must repay its insurance company the $3 million it paid after the city lost a lawsuit filed by a developer.Developer Mike Delaney sued the city in 2003 alleging the...

Regulation, Reputational Risk Top Concerns of Risk Managers: Lloyd’s

Apr 30 2012 // A heightened focus on insurance regulation as well as exposures related to reputational risk are top concerns for insurance executives today, reports a new survey.Nearly a third of executives responding to a survey...

Missouri House Passes Whistleblower, Work Comp Bills

Apr 30 2012 // The Missouri House passed two pieces of business legislation aimed at overcoming vetoes by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon earlier this year.Both measures now go to the Senate, which approved similar measures earlier in the...

Alabama Lawmakers Pass Ban on Texting While Driving

Apr 30 2012 // State lawmakers have voted unanimously to make Alabama the 38th state to ban texting while driving.A compromise version of the bill by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville cleared the House 95-0 and the Senate...

Victims of Cyberbullying Fighting Back in Libel Suits

Apr 30 2012 // When a Georgia middle school student reported to police and school officials that she had been bullied on Facebook, they told her there was not much they could do because the harassment occurred off campus.So the...

Montana High Court Hears Hutterite Labor Case

Apr 27 2012 // The Montana Supreme Court did not immediately rule after hearing competing arguments from a Hutterite colony and the state on whether Montana’s requirement that employers carry workers’ compensation insurance...

Bill To Align California With Dodd-Frank Passes Committee

Apr 26 2012 // The California Senate Insurance Committee passed a law regarding reinsurers that would put the state in alignment with the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and a model law from the National...

1,000 Independent Agents Lobbying Lawmakers in Washington

Apr 26 2012 // More than 1,000 independent agents from around the country will be visiting Capitol Hill offices in Washington, D.C., today to lobby members of the House, Senate and their staffs.Called “The Big ‘I’ Day...

Ohio’s Exotic Animal Bill with Insurance Requirement Advances

Apr 26 2012 // A proposal to regulate ownership of lions, monkeys and other dangerous exotic animals in Ohio cleared a state legislative panel on April 25 and was headed to the full Senate for an afternoon vote.The state Senate’s...

Mississippi Judge Declares Damages Cap Unconstitutional

Apr 25 2012 // A state judge has declared a legislatively imposed cap on how much juries can award in non-economic damages unconstitutional.Circuit Judge Charles Webster in Coahoma County issued the ruling April 20 in a 14-page opinion....

Maine Workers’ Comp Reform Bill Signed Into Law

Apr 24 2012 // A new Maine bill that brings wide-ranging changes to the state’s workers’ compensation system was signed into law last week.The bill, signed into law by Maine Gov. Paul LePage, is called An Act to Review and...

Florida Governor Vetoes Cat Fund Tax-Credit Plan

Apr 24 2012 // Florida Governor Rick Scott has chastised state lawmakers for failing to fully consider a controversial plan to use state premium tax credits to help shore-up the state’s homeowners’ reinsurance fund before...

Montana GOP Candidates Embrace Insurance Industry Bills

Apr 23 2012 // Republican candidates for governor said on April 19 at a forum that they would back key insurance industry legislation if elected, and largely held similar positions with each other on a variety of issues.Most of the GOP...

Missouri Bill Would Limit Whistleblower Protections

Apr 23 2012 // About a month after Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed changes to Missouri’s workplace discrimination law, Republicans lawmakers are pushing a pair of scaled-back measures that could make it more difficult for workers...

Alabama Attorney General Urges Judge to Set BP Trial Date

Apr 23 2012 // Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has urged a Louisiana federal judge to set a trial date to hear claims of lost revenue by Alabama and Louisiana because of the massive BP oil spill. Strange said Friday that setting...

Republicans Prepare Should Supreme Court Overturn Healthcare Plan

Apr 23 2012 // Republicans in Congress are getting ready to answer an election-year question that has dogged the party’s campaign for months: How would it replace President Barack Obama’s healthcare law if the measure is...