Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, April 29
Apr 29, 2011
To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below. Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
Florida’s 2011 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
9:00 a.m.–Senate Session
- CS/CS/SB 178 relating to Commercial Insurance Rates by the Senate Committees on Commerce and Tourism, Banking and Insurance; Senator Steve Oelrich
11:00 a.m.–House Session
- CS/CS/CS/CS/HB 479 relating to Medical Malpractice by the House Committees on Judiciary and Health Care Appropriations; Subcommittees on Health and Human Services Access and Civil Justice; State Representative Mike Horner
- CS/HB 1087 relating to Persons Designated To Receive Insurer Notifications by the House Economic Affairs Committee; State Representative Doug Holder
- CS/CS/HB 1227 relating to Surplus Lines by the House Finance and Tax Committee; House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; State Representative Bill Hager
- CS/HB 1007 relating to Insurer Insolvency by House Subcommittee on Insurance and Banking; State Representative Mack Bernard
Sweeping property insurance bill passes Florida Senate
The Senate voted 25 to 12 in favor of a sweeping property Insurance bill that would free private insurers from having to offer comprehensive sinkhole insurance.
Senate passes bill to relieve home insurers
Responding to cries from the Insurance industry that fraudulent and frivolous sinkhole claims are draining their coffers, the Florida Senate voted Thursday in favor of a sweeping proposal that would free them from a requirement to provide comprehensive sinkhole coverage.
Blog: Another Florida home insurer could fold
Argus Fire & Casualty Insurance Co. has started informing insurance agents that it will start dropping policyholders when they’re up for renewal.
Fire Risk Prompts Florida to Restrict Everglades Access
Fire relief: Golden Gate Estates homeowners escape major damage
The first thing Phil and Becky Mudrak said they felt on Thursday morning was a sense of relief.
Lawyers predict problems for businesses in bad faith bills
The Insurance industry is finding a lot of love in the Florida Legislature.
Editorial: Don’t let insurers walk away from sinkholes
With no recent hurricanes to blame for raising property insurance rates, insurers have a new excuse to seek big breaks from a compliant Legislature: sinkholes.
Letter to the Editor: Florida’s Citizens Insurance Program Isn’t Broke, So Why Fix It?
It was interesting to read in The Ledger editorials that J.D. Alexander got laughs from fellow committee members when he said Citizens Insurance should be called Taxpayer Funded Property Insurance, while they try to raise its rates by 25 percent and let other insurance companies raise their rates without having to prove they need to.
Bonita residents in flood-prone areas to be eligible for 5 percent insurance decrease
Effective October 1, Bonita Springs residents who live in flood-prone areas will be eligible to receive an additional 5 percent decrease on their Insurance premiums.
Feds: Florida can’t expand Medicaid pilot statewide
Federal health officials told Florida lawmakers Thursday they can’t privatize Medicaid statewide for now, saying they need to see specific details of how the state plans to change the program, which provide health insurance to mostly low-income residents.
Senate President Haridopolos calls Saturday session, will likely bring up immigration on Friday
Senate President Mike Haridopolos announced Thursday that the Senate will meet for a rare Saturday session this week, taking up confirmations of many of the governor’s appointees and leaving the door open for a vote on an immigration bill.
Guns bills approved by Florida Senate
The Florida Senate on Thursday, by a succession of mostly party-line votes, approved a trio of bills that supporters say will ensure citizens’ constitutionally-protected gun rights.
Florida Senate approves abortion funding bans
The Florida Senate passed a bill and a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would ban the use of public and insurance exchange money for abortions, with most Republicans voting in favor and Democrats against.
Senate passes phone deregulation measure
A bill approving the deregulation of landline telephone service is headed to Governor Rick Scott’s desk.
Split Supreme Court plan jams up Senate
House Speaker Dean Cannon’s plan to re-shape the Florida Supreme Court is provoking a fierce lobbying effort in the Senate and threatening to bog down work on the state budget and a host of other issues.
Red-light camera legal challenge is back in court
A local attorney will get the chance to convince a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge that the state’s year-old red-light camera law is unconstitutional after all.
Blog: Union dues bills rises again in Gaetz phoenix
Here it comes again. A bill to ban public employee unions from using payroll deduction to collect their dues was considered all but dead on Wednesday when Senate leaders couldn’t get the votes to pass it.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Florida House Poised to Approve Property Tax Overhaul
If it becomes law, local governments will feel pinch
Despite strong opposition from cities and counties, the House is set to approve on Friday a proposed constitutional amendment that grants business owners, landlords and investors a lower limit on how much their property tax bills can increase.
Environmentalists decry deregulation bill that House GOP suddenly fast-tracked
The Florida House is poised to vote Friday on a bill that environmentalists are calling a Frankenstein, an eclectic collection of 34 regulatory changes that would make it easier and faster for various industries to obtain environmental permits.
Court questions limits on use of prescription data
The Supreme Court cast doubt Tuesday on efforts by states to limit drug manufacturers’ use of information about the prescription drugs that doctors like to prescribe.
E-Verify Bill Dying a Slow Death in Senate
Tea parties are boiling over yet another GOP failure to clamp down on immigration
Senate Bill 2040 must clear the Senate Budget Committee by day’s end, according to the latest timetable. Still bottled up by Chairman J.D. Alexander, the heavily amended measure would require employers to use the federal E-Verify database or Real ID-compliant driver’s license identification to screen new hires.
Boon to Florida Economy? ‘Single Sales’ Corporate Tax In Budget
TaxWatch hails shift away from three-pronged levy; others say state will be a net loser
Florida House and Senate budget negotiators have agreed to a tax shift that could benefit corporations doing business in the state.
Controversial permit streamlining bill includes extension for replacing petroleum tanks
Governor Bob Martinez and the Cabinet in 1990 directed the Department of Environmental Protection to require tank upgrades by 2010. An attorney for Sunshine Gasoline Distributors Inc. of Doral said the 15-month extension in HB 991 would allow the company to keep stores open while it replaces tanks.
Deal reached on higher education spending
The House and Senate tonight came to an agreement on proposed higher education spending.
Ethics complaint filed against Miami lawmaker
A Tallahassee mother of three said she filed an ethics complaint on Wednesday against state Representative Erik Fresen over his family’s ties to a charter school company.
Candidates Starting to Line Up to Take on Corrine Brown
Two Republicans and a Libertarian ready to take on veteran Democratic incumbent
While 2010 was a very strong year for Republicans in the state and across the nation, Democratic U.S. Representative Corrine Brown routed her Republican challenger, businessman Mike Yost, taking 63 percent to his 34 percent.
Judge upholds solvent reinsurer’s commutation plan
A Rhode Island judge has approved a commutation plan allowing a still-solvent reinsurer to wind up its business quickly without a lengthy runoff or liquidation.
California Bill Proposes Consolidating Insurance Disclosure Notices
California legislators are considering whether to allow certain insurance policies and disclosures to be consolidated into one document, printed in smaller type.
Insurance Implications for Prince William and Kate’s Wedding
The impending nuptials of Prince William and Kate officially reached critical mass this week, with festivities set to kick off in London on Friday.
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