All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Feb 27 2014 // A bid to increase speed limits on Idaho roads raced to a victory on the Senate floor, as lawmakers voted 30-4 to send it on to the House.Legal speeds would jump from 75 to 80 mph on the interstate and from 65 to 70 mph on...
Feb 27 2014 // A bill that would make it harder for companies that hold large numbers of patents to sue for patent infringement when they don’t produce the patented goods has been passed by the Kentucky Senate.Bill sponsor Sen....
Feb 26 2014 // The biggest U.S. banks and insurance companies would have to pay a quarterly 3.5 basis-point tax on assets exceeding $500 billion under a plan to be unveiled this week by Congress’s top Republican tax writer.The...
Feb 24 2014 // A bill to create a private flood insurance option in West Virginia has passed unanimously in the Senate.Sen. Rocky Fitzsimmons said his bill provides residents with more flood insurance options and would help lower...
Feb 24 2014 // House GOP leaders last week put the final touches on legislation that would significantly water down a recently enacted overhaul of the much criticized federal flood insurance program, easing many premium increases and...
Feb 21 2014 // The Oklahoma Senate Public Safety Committee has approved legislative measures that would ban texting while driving, as well as the use of cell phones while driving in school zones.Senate Bill 442, by Sen. Ron Sharp, would...
Feb 21 2014 // A panel of medical experts would review proposed medical malpractice claims against health care providers before they could be pursued in court under a bill the Kentucky Senate passed this week.The party-line vote in the...
Feb 20 2014 // New Jersey’s Senate president says the Christie administration’s handling of Superstorm Sandy aid has been “a colossal failure.”Steve Sweeney held an event Wednesday in Perth Amboy to push for his...
Feb 19 2014 // The House of Representatives should defeat flood insurance legislation passed by the Senate in January because it “would have the effect of misleading tens of thousands of homeowners concerning their vulnerability to...
Feb 18 2014 // Labor contractors would be protected from some litigation under a bill that cleared a Senate panel last week.If passed, the bill would insulate primary contractors from any liability for the illegal practices of their...
Feb 14 2014 // A measure to do away with local government’s power to decide whether to allow firearms in public parks has passed the Senate.The measure sponsored by Republican Sen. Stacey Campfield of Knoxville was approved 26-7....
Feb 12 2014 // Landlords who live on their own property would not be financially liable for a tenant’s dog if it attacks another person under a bill passed by the Kentucky Senate. Republican Sen. Chris Girdler of Somerset called...
Feb 7 2014 // The Mississippi Senate has voted to make texting a driving a crime _ but not much of one. Senate Bill 2434 says anyone caught sending a text message or checking a social media site while driving can be charged with...
Feb 6 2014 // U.S. senators said they will take up a bill as soon as this week to require inspections and clean-up plans for chemical storage tanks, over the objection of industry, after a West Virginia spill tainted drinking...
Feb 4 2014 // The Senate passed and sent to President Barack Obama a measure that sets U.S. agricultural policy for five years, ending the toughest legislative battle on renewal of the farm bill in almost two decades with cuts to crop...
Feb 4 2014 // The effort to delay huge increases in insurance premiums for homeowners in flood-prone areas faces a skeptical House chairman who is largely standing behind the changes Congress oversaw in the nation’s flood...
Feb 3 2014 // Long-delayed farm legislation easily cleared a procedural hurdle on Monday in the U.S. Senate, with final passage of the nearly $1 trillion bill expected as early as Tuesday.The House of Representatives last week...
Jan 30 2014 // The Senate passed a bill Thursday to delay certain flood insurance rate hikes and create a national registry for licensing insurance agents by a vote of 67-32. (See how senators voted at end of story.)The bill delays the...
Jan 30 2014 // A proposal that seeks to do away with local government’s power to decide whether to allow firearms in public parks in is headed for a full vote in the Tennessee Senate vote.The measure sponsored by Republican Sen....
Jan 30 2014 // The Senate has begun adopting amendments to the bill (S.1926) that seeks to delay flood insurance premium increases called for under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.The Senate bill would halt premium...