Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report – Monday, March 20, 2017
Mar 20, 2017
Florida Senate Insurance Premium Tax Break Repeal May Be on the Ropes
Senator Anitere Flores, a Miami-Dade Republican and Negron’s right hand in the Chamber, is running the Bill (SB 378) to pay for a Cut in the State’s Tax on Mobile Phone, Satellite and Cable TV Service by Repealing a Tax Break to Insurers. Jim Rosica reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.
Florida’s Workplace Death Rate Rises More Than Nation’s
Florida’s Workplaces collectively have become less safe in recent years, New Data Shows. In 2015, Florida’s Rate of Fatalities increased from 2.7 to 3.1 for every 1,000 Workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Florida had a Larger Increase in its Worker Death Toll in 2015 than the Nation as a whole. The Orlando Sentinel reports via Crain’s Miami.
Florida Unit Investigating Medicaid Fraud Gets High Marks
Florida is among one of the Nation’s Top States in recovering money from Health Care Providers suspected of Medicaid Fraud. The Associated Press reports via FloridaPolitics.com.
Florida Asks For More Medicaid Flexibility
Arguing that the changes could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year, Governor Rick Scott’s Administration Friday asked the Federal Government for more flexibility in running the Medicaid Program. THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA reports via News4Jax.com.
· Rick Scott to Feds: Give Us A Medicaid Block Grant
Airbnb Reaches Tax Deal With Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has reached an Agreement with the popular Short-Term Rental Platform to collect County Resort Taxes. The Miami Herald reports.
Powerful Florida Constitutional Revision Panel Gears Up With Beruff at Helm
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission is holding its first Meeting today. The Associated Press reports via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Richard Corcoran Leaves the Capitol Behind as He Campaigns Around the State
Corcoran said a Special Session of the Legislature will likely be needed to get rid of the “Absolute Cesspool” headed by Scott known as Enterprise Florida, the State’s Job Recruitment Program. The Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports.
Regardless of the philosophical debate underlying business incentives and aiding corporations and whether it helps create jobs – a debate that unites House Republicans with Progressive Democrats – the real story playing out amid this feud is that Florida’s Republican structure is deeply divided and there’s no signs that’s going to change anytime soon. Gary Fineout reports for his blog, “The Fine Print.”
Russian Elite Invested Nearly $100 Million in Trump Florida Buildings
The tally of Investors from Russia may be conservative. The Analysis found that at least 703 – or about one-third – of the Owners of the 2044 Units in the Seven Trump Buildings are Limited Liability Companies, or LLCs, which have the ability to hide the Identity of a Property’s True Owner. Reuters’ Nathan Layne, Ned Parker, Svetlana Reiter, Stephen Grey and Ryan McNeill report.
Will Legislators Lift the Veil on “Dark Money” in Florida Politics?
The ritual is so routine it hardly draws attention but, in the ramp-up to the Annual Legislative Session, Florida’s most politically powerful corporations seed hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash into the Political Committees of Legislators. The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports.
Water Officials Warn of Shortage, Rising Potential for Drought
Months of below normal rainfall prompted Regional Water Management Officials to declare a Water Shortage Warning order this week for seven North Florida Counties, including Flagler County. Dinah Voyles Pulver reports for the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Florida Drops Charges in Case That Shook Florida Politics
Florida is dropping charges against an Attorney once accused of being at the center of a $300 Million Gambling Ring. The Associated Press reports via FloridaPolitics.com.
Florida Firm Pushing Sales of its American-Made AK-47
There were as many as 150 Million Kalashnikovs as of 2012, according to Aaron Karp, Senior Consultant to the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-Based Research Institute. The Associated Press reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.
National Hurricane Center Rolls Out New Look For “Cone of Uncertainty”
As Storm Forecasters have grown more certain over the years about the potential path a Hurricane will take, the popular “Cone of Uncertainty” used in Models has grown smaller. But widespread misunderstanding of the Cone has prompted Forecasters to try to improve the tool. Ben Montgomery reports for the Tampa Bay Times.
Read the NAIC Letter to Treasury on Covered Agreement
State Regulators have asked to work with the U.S. Treasury to clarify details of the E.U. Insurance Covered Agreement; also to offer Technical Assistance and Expertise.
Mississippi Supreme Court Refuses to Dismiss State Farm Katrina Lawsuit
The Sun Herald reports that Attorney General Jim Hood’s Lawsuit against Insurance Giant State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. can go forward. The Lawsuit was Filed nearly 10 years after Katrina left a wide swath of destruction.
North Carolina Busts 70 Taxi, Limo Drivers in Insurance Rate Evasion Scheme
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey says 70 Charlotte-area Taxi and Limousine Drivers falsely listed the same address in Suburban Union County to get a break on Auto Insurance. Insurance Journal reports.
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