Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, April 7
Apr 7, 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
8:00 a.m.–House Economic Affairs Committee
- HB 535 Relating to Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program by State Representative Jim Frishe
- CS/HB 885 Relating to Residential Property Insurance by House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; State Representative John Wood
- HB 1087 Relating to Persons Designated to Receive Insurer Notification by State Representative Doug Holder
- CS/HB 1243 Relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; State Representative Jim Boyd
12:00 p.m.–House Session
- CS/HB 5005 relating to Deregulation of Professions and Occupations by House Economic Affairs Committee, Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee; State Representative Dorothy Hukill
- CS/HB 5007 relating to Reducing and Streamlining Regulations by House Economic Affairs Committee, Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee; State Representative Dorothy Hukill
Florida PIP Reform Bills Stall In Senate
Legislation in Florida aimed at curbing personal injury protection insurance fraud stalled in state Senate Banking and Insurance Committee yesterday.
Walter Dartland: PIP Fraud a Threat to Florida Consumers
Lawmakers have strong plan to end costly, spreading scams
Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters: Public Adjusters Aren’t Villains
In heated legislative battles, it’s common for one industry to be painted as the “villain.” I find it curious that in current debates regarding insurance issues, the villain role is somehow being projected upon those who advocate for you, the people of Florida.
House unveils then delays action on bill that would water down Crist’s Cover Florida program
The House late last week unveiled a bill that could impact the program started under former Gov. Charlie Crist.
Researchers cast doubt on Medicaid Reform savings and cost impact of health care reform
Lawmakers are using the state’s ongoing Medicaid Reform pilot project as a stepping stone to a plan to shift Medicaid patients into managed care.
Professional deregulation moves ahead in the state House
The Florida House discussed a sweeping deregulation bill that would affect 20 professions. It took awhile, because Democrats proposed amendments that would preserve the regulations for each of them individually.
Senate’s $69.8 Billion Budget Ready for Floor Vote
$700 million shaved off current budget, far cry from Rick Scott’s goal
Blog: House Speaker Dean Cannon modifies court reform proposal
House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, has changed some of his court reform proposals in response to criticism from stakeholders, reports the News Service of Florida.
Blog: Senate breaks with House on pensions
Dueling budget plans were poised for votes Thursday in the House and Senate a milestone for lawmakers still far from consensus and struggling to close an almost $3.8 billion budget shortfall.
Blog: Senate removes triple-dipper provision from retirement bill
Senator Bill Montford proudly proclaimed that as a former school superintendent, and 40-year veteran of the Leon County school system, he is “proud to be a double dipper.”
House committee passes substantially revised water quality bill
Representative Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers and sponsor of HB 239, on Tuesday supported a proposed committee substitute that removed language that raised concerns with DEP officials.
Analysis contends Florida gets more federal tax dollars back than it sends to DC
The Daily Beast website crunched numbers to look at how much each state sends – and then gets back – from Washington D.C. in federal tax dollars. Florida was ranked 27th overall.
Big Tobacco Companies Rally Workers for Taxing Dosal
Bill from Representative John Tobia would place new tax on one tobacco company
About 200 workers gathered Tuesday in Tallahassee for a rally and march to the Capitol in support of a bill they say would close a tax loophole on Dosal Tobacco.
Mississippi Governor Barbour Vetoes Insurance Verification Bill, Seeks Fix
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has vetoed a bill to set up an electronic system to verify that drivers have auto insurance, a program intended to reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the state’s roads.
Bill to Cap Civil Damages Passed by Oklahoma Legislature
A Republican-sponsored proposal to cap damages for pain and suffering in civil lawsuits to $350,000 headed to the governor’s desk after the Oklahoma Senate approved it on April 4 in a vote mostly along party lines.
Texas medical liability law touted as blueprint for national reform
Everything’s better in Texas. Or so Representative Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, would have you believe about medical malpractice reform. In a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing Tuesday, he spoke for a federal reform bill by touting results from Texas’ 2003 reform law as bringing doctors into the state, keeping doctors in state and pushing down lawsuits.
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