Declarations

The Cost

“You can talk to anyone who’s lost a friend or family member to a drunk driver and they’ll tell you about the cost.”

–Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist told a Washington state Senate panel that a measure making it a felony charge to drive under the influence when the driver has three prior offenses within 10 years would send a message that the state takes drunk driving seriously.

Pattern

“This repeated pattern of significant rate increases represents an undue financial burden for our homeowners, and this burden has a negative impact on our budget, the regional tourism industry, and local real estate market. These increases are unfair and unreasonable.”

–North Carolina coastal resident Buck Lineberger criticizing a proposed average 25 percent homeowners insurance rate hike.

Captivating Year

“2013 was a terrific year for captives in Vermont.”

–Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on his state’s captive insurance industry. Speaking at the Vermont Captive Insurance Association’s legislative meeting on Jan. 16, Shumlin noted that Vermont licensed 29 new captives last year. New licensees in 2013 bring Vermont’s total to 1,013, with 588 active captive insurance companies.

Drive, Don’t Text

“Texting is where you take your hands off the wheel, your eyes off the road, and your mind off your task – the task of driving safely.”

–Nebraska state Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff, who has sponsored a bill that would allow law enforcement to stop drivers who are seen texting or not wearing a seat belt. Current state law treats the violations as secondary offenses; officers can only ticket motorists after stopping them for another reason.

Regional Data

“They’re obviously selling the data sets by region.”

–McAllen, Texas, Police Chief Victor Rodriguez referring to the arrest in South Texas of two Mexican nationals who had used account information of South Texas residents stolen from Target to purchase tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise.