Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, March 11
Mar 11, 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
- Daily Florida Insurance-Related Bills Filed for 2011
- Daily Insurance-Related News
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
8:00 a.m.–Senate Budget Subcommittee on General Government Appropriations
- SB 408 Relating to Property Insurance by Senator Garrett Richter
- SB 484 Relating to Discriminatory Taxes/Reinsurance by Senator Alan Hays
12:30 p.m.-News Conference: Senator Alan Hays will hold a news conference to discuss Citizens Property Insurance Corporation reform legislation. The Capitol, 4th Floor Rotunda, Senate side.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Bills Filed for 2011
No insurance-related bills have been filed.
Two Public Adjusters Arrested After Florida Investigation
Within the last two weeks Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has announced the arrests of two public adjusters as lawmakers prepare to consider a vast property insurance reform bill with provisions that address the practices of public adjusters.
Column: Florida Senator Hays has good idea in limiting Citizens Property Insurance
While state Senator Alan Hays has introduced a number of bills that would be bad for Lake County residents if passed, he’s definitely got a winner in Senate Bill 1714, an attempt to start getting Florida out of the insurance business.
Some senators balk at repealing septic tank requirement
Last year’s SB 550 requirement for inspections every five years was met with an outcry from rural homeowners.
House: No on pain rules, database
A top House committee today voted to eliminate state regulations on pain clinics, repeal the drug database law and stop doctors from dispensing drugs.
Florida Governor Scott tax cut proposal draws credit agency warning
During two terms as governor, Jeb Bush looked to Florida’s credit rating as one of his performance guideposts.
Committee OKs bill on union dues and government pay
A bill that prohibits the automatic payroll deduction of union dues from government workers’ pay cleared a House committee Thursday and critics called the measure an attempt at union-busting.
Representative Snyder’s immigration proposal passes Judiciary Committee
An immigration bill by Representative William Snyder that’s been in the works for months passed its first committee Thursday with a 12-6 favorable vote – and plenty of questions and concerns – from the Judiciary Committee he chairs.
Blog: Disney-backed bid to erase a contract law advances in Florida House
A Walt Disney World-backed bill to erase a 27-year-old contract law is headed for the state House floor after clearing another legislative hurdle this afternoon.
Senate OKs bill on merit pay, tenure
Arguing that rewarding good teachers and firing bad ones is “a moral issue,” Senate Republicans approved a sweeping education package Thursday that ends teacher tenure and pegs pay raises to classroom performance by students.
Bipartisan Bills Filed to Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentences
Nonviolent drug offenders could be facing less time in jail if bills filed in the state House and Senate make it into law.
Feds to probe ouster of Florida’s nursing-home watchdog
The federal Administration on Aging will investigate the dismissal of Florida’s top nursing-home watchdog, who left his post last month after what patient advocates say was illegal interference by Florida Governor Rick Scott.
Budget analysts say Medically Needy changes won’t produce savings anytime soon
Florida shouldn’t bank on savings from a remodel of the Medically Needy program any time soon, state budget experts said on Thursday.
Fearful of protesters, Florida Chamber of Commerce hires security, assigns threat levels
Fearful that protesters might storm their doors during the legislative session, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is on lockdown – hiring off-duty Tallahassee police officers to stand guard in the parking lot and establishing security codes (red, orange and yellow) so employees know the threat level.
Insurers’ Share Prices Fall on Japan Earthquake News
Shares in European insurers and reinsurers fell sharply in early trading on Friday after Japan was hit by a massive earthquake, one of the biggest ever recorded.
Mississippi insurance database bill survives deadline
A bill that would allow the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and the state’s departments of revenue and insurance to work on a new program using computer technology to verify that drivers have automobile liability insurance has passed the state Senate before a legislative deadline.
Georgia Court Rules Commercial Liability Policy Covers Faulty Work
A general contractor can recover from its subcontractor’s insurers for the cost of repairs for damage to surrounding property resulting from the subcontractor’s faulty workmanship, the Georgia Supreme Court has held.
Lawmaker Files Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Reform Bill
Texas State Representative Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, has introduced House Bill 2818, a comprehensive reform effort intended to address many of the problems confronting the Texas Windstorm Insurance Agency.
Texas Lawmakers Want to End Driver Surcharges
Texas lawmakers are considering eliminating a program that requires those charged with offenses including driving while intoxicated and failure to have insurance to pay state surcharges.
Dodd-Frank Should Be ‘Rally Cry’ For State Regulatory Reform
State regulators and legislators are in a “new paradigm” as a result the Dodd-Frank financial services reform law, “certainly having at least a new cousin in the federal government,” industry officials said last week.
San Francisco Jury Finds Lorillard Tobacco Company Liable in Asbestos Product Liability Case
After a seven week trial against Lorillard Tobacco Company and Hollingsworth & Vose Company, a San Francisco Superior Court jury awarded nearly $ 1.4 million to a Placerville, California couple, Don and Monica Lenney.
Remembering the Triangle Waist Company Fire
The fire at the Triangle Waist Co. in New York City, which claimed the lives of 146 young immigrant workers 100 years ago in March 1911, is one of the worst disasters since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
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