Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, August 23
Aug 23, 2013
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
10:00 a.m.–Executive Office of the Governor public meeting. Tallahassee, Florida. Citizens Inspector General candidate interviews. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Citizens board seals deal for clearinghouse to shop policies
Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a 10-year deal with Bolt Solutions worth an estimated $44.9 million to operate a “clearinghouse” to funnel existing and prospective customers into the private market, if possible, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
30-Foot-Wide Sinkhole Found in Pasco County, Florida
A 30-foot sinkhole has been discovered in Pasco County after reports of flooding from severe rain in the area, WTVJ-TV NBC-6 reports.
Florida has more sinkholes than anyplace in the country, so residents typically treat them like the state’s other inconveniences of nature like hurricanes and alligators – we learn to live with them, the Gainesville Sun Editorial Board writes.
Unclaimed property auction expected to bring in record amount to state
The items – some big, some small – have sat unclaimed in safe deposit boxes for years. Now the bounty belongs to the state, and they’re ready to sell, reports Donna Gehrke-White for the Sun Sentinel.
Only a fraction of Florida’s $9 billion bank settlement has gone toward keeping people in homes
The nationwide settlement absolving big banks of foreclosure abuse has led to more than $9 billion in Florida relief, but most of that money did not go toward keeping people in their homes, a final report released Thursday shows, writes Drew Harwell for the Tampa Bay Times.
Judge hears redistricting dispute
A legal challenge brought by the League of Women Voters of Florida and other plaintiffs contests the redistricting of Florida’s congressional and state Senate boundaries last year, Bill Cotterell reports for The Florida Current.
Scott loses another appeal of a ruling disallowing random drug tests of state employees
A federal appeals court has rejected a request by Gov. Rick Scott‘s administration for a rehearing in a legal battle about drug tests for state employees. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order last week denying the request, which included seeking a hearing before the full appeals court, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA reports via Orlando Sentinel’s Central Florida Political Pulse Blog.
Scientists point to water quality problems, septic tanks as woes for Indian River Lagoon
A Senate select committee was told Thursday that reducing the water flows from Lake Okeechobee into South Florida estuaries will require more spending by state and federal governments on water storage and a focus on septic tanks.
Summit to Map Florida Education System Direction
With Florida’s public-school system facing major questions, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday announced plans for a summit next week that will bring together political, business and education leaders, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’S Jim Saunders reports in SunshineStateNews.com.
Steve Crisafulli on the Right Track for High Office
In the last nine months, Steve Crisafulli has moved from a backbencher in the Florida House to incoming speaker and House majority leader with an even higher office beckoning down the road, Jeff Henderson reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
North Carolina Consumers Confronted with Consent to Rate
WFMY-TV in Greensboro, N.C. reports on a common problem facing North Carolina consumers: the arrival of letters from one’s home or auto insurer requesting to raise rates above levels approved by by the state, with the implicit threat of dropped coverage for those who don’t consent, blogs Ray Lehman on Insurance Journal.
The Best Reporting on Hurricanes and Their Aftermaths
ProPublica has rounded up some of the best reporting on hurricanes and what happens after they’re over – from inept planning to police abuses to waste and misspending during the recovery, Theodoric Meyer reports for ProPublica.
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