Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, January 26
Jan 26, 2012
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 2012 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.–Senate Budget Budget Subcommittee on General Government Appropriations
- SB 1094 Relating to Workers’ Compensation by Senator Alan Hays
- SB 1220 Repeal of Health Insurance Provisions by Senator Rene Garcia
- SB 1346 Relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by Senator Steve Oelrich
(CANCELED) 10:00 a.m.–Florida Surplus Lines Service Office National Clearinghouse Committee meeting. To view the meeting notice, click here.
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.–Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance
- SB 1232 Relating to Open Government Sunset Review/Personal Injury Protection and Property Damage by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance
- SB 1404 Relating to Title Insurance by Senator Thad Altman
- SB 1406 Relating to Public Records/Title Insurance Data/Department of Financial Services by Senator Thad Altman
- SB 1152 Repeal of A Workers’ Compensation Independent Actuarial Peer Review Requirement by Senator Garrett Richter
- SB 1822 Relating to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act by Senator Hays
- SB 1778 Relating to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by Senator Richter
- SB 826 Relating to Title Insurance Claims by Senator Mike Bennett
- SB 1262 Relating to Warranty Associations by Senator Steve Oelrich
Personal Injury Protection Reform Bill Drives Through House Panel Amid Opposition
A personal injury protection bill patterned after Florida’s workers’ compensation program ran into a buzz saw of opposition at a jam-packed committee room Wednesday, but emerged relatively unscathed.
- PIP bill moves through one House committee gets pulled from another
- Governor Rick Scott-backed bill to combat fraud advances in Florida House
- Governor Scott leads charge on changing no-fault insurance laws
- Florida Governor Scott Leads a PIP Rally for Reform
- Governor Scott PIP Media Conference Photos
- Governor Scott says PIP program ‘has to be fixed’
- Blog: Fired-up Governor Rick Scott champions House PIP reform critics call anti-consumer
- Governor Scott ratchets up PIP pressure
- Injured car accident victims would be forced to emergency rooms under lawmaker proposal
- PIP fight not just between political parties
- PIP reform would require emergency room visits for accident victims
- Florida drivers said to pay $1 billion more in auto insurance because of staged crashes
- Law Enforcement, Business Leaders & Consumers: Put the Brakes on Fraud
- The Politics of Florida PIP: Industry Looks on While Politicians Seek Answers
With rising insurance costs, homeowners worry
Linda Sapp’s reaction to her insurance bill was sticker shock: The annual premium doubled to $4,800, adding hundreds to her monthly mortgage payment.
Florida Senators Back Expansion of Governor’s Nominating Powers for Judiciary
A “compromise” to give Governor Rick Scott and future governors the power to name the majority of the state’s judicial nominating commission appointments sailed through its first committee on Wednesday.
Future of transparency bill not so clear
Doctors, urgent care clinics and ambulatory surgical centers would have to make available to patients how much certain procedures cost under a bill OK’d Wednesday.
Florida Senator David Simmons Withdraws Super Property Tax Exemption Effort; May Try Again
A statewide referendum designed to pump life into the housing market by creating a super property-tax exemption for first-time home buyers and seasonal or second home owners will remain in its original form on the November 2012 ballot.
Florida House gives Governor Scott his $1 billion for education
The Senate wants to put an extra $1.3 billion towards education, but its specific proposal won’t be released for at least two weeks.
Florida Legislators target Florida Department of Health bureau chief overseeing septic tank programs
A House budget subcommittee chairman is aiming to do away with the job of a Florida Department of Health bureau chief who oversees the controversial septic tanks program.
Lawmakers kill “Ag-Gag” proposals
Animal rights activists who take secret pictures or videos to expose cruelty on farms will still legally be able to do so after lawmakers slashed “Ag-Gag” proposals in the House and Senate this week.
Bill to encourage oil exploration and drilling on Florida lands passes committee
A House panel on Thursday approved bills that are intended to encourage oil exploration and drilling on state lands and the development of a solar energy project in Southwest Florida.
Florida House budget cuts Governor Scott’s economic incentives, but removes some strings
The governor has asked for $236 million in incentives to lure business to Florida or for existing business expansion, but the House recommendations include only $73 million for incentives.
Florida could allow random testing of public workers
The Republican-led Florida Legislature is pushing ahead with a bill that would allow random drug testing of state workers and other public employees every three months, despite ongoing questions about the legality of the plan.
Florida Legislature: Obscure House subcommittee exists to make political points
Hours before President Barack Obama took to the airwaves Tuesday night to blast partisan intransigence in Congress, state legislators in Tallahassee were huddled in a basement committee room lambasting the president’s federal health-care reform and deficits.
Massachusetts Attorney General Calls Proposed Homeowners Premium Hike ‘Illegally Excessive’
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is opposing a recently proposed home insurance rate request for 150,000 consumers, calling it illegally excessive.
New Jersey Amends 25 percent of PIP Reform Proposals, Reflecting Public Comments
New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance has amended some 25 percent of its personal injury protection rule proposals, after reviewing and incorporating recommendations from a mountain of public comment letters it has received.
Kentucky’s Churchill Downs, Jockeys’ Guild Reach Insurance Agreement
Churchill Downs Inc. and the Jockeys’ Guild have reached an agreement to subsidize riders’ health insurance, life insurance and disability benefits for members of the Guild who ride in the United States.
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