Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Thursday, October 16, 2014
Oct 16, 2014
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
- 9:00 a.m.–Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation (“DWC”) Proposed Rule Hearing; Tallahassee, Florida. Repeal is proposed for Rule 69L-6.026, entitled “Periodic Reports,” which requires employers issued Stop Work Orders with an assessed penalty exceeding $50,000 to file quarterly compliance reports with the DWC. Since the law has been repealed, the Rule is now unnecessary. To view the hearing notice, click here.
- 9:30 a.m.–DWC Rule Development Workshop; Tallahassee, Florida. Proposed Rule 69L-6.029, “Employer Worksites,” would implement Chapter 2014-109, Laws of Florida, which amended s. 440.107, F.S. Under the new law, an employer now has 10 business days instead of five to produce business records following a written request from the Florida Department of Financial Services, or be subject to a Stop Work Order. To view the Workshop notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Throw bad PIP insurance law under bus, Palm Beach County schools ask court
Palm Beach County’s school board is taking Florida’s insurance commissioner to court – and asking a judge to declare part of the state’s Personal Injury Protection auto insurance law unconstitutional, Charles Elmore reports for the Palm Beach Post.
Red light cameras: Appeals Court Finds for Driver In Case Over Private Citation Issue
A judge previously found that a South Florida city improperly delegated its responsibilities to a private company in issuing a red light camera citation. The three-judge appeals court panel agreed, saying Florida law doesn’t authorize a private company to issue citations. The Sun-Sentinel’s Michael Turnbell reports.
Investigators catch Florida Division of Insurance Fraud’s number one most wanted
Florida’s state fraud investigators have finally caught their number one target on the top 10 most wanted for the state’s Division of Insurance Fraud under the Department of Financial Services, Insurance Business America reports.
Three Florida Chiropractors Sentenced in Staged Automobile Accident Scheme
Florida’s Operation Sledgehammer nets three in the latest in a series of federal and state charges that have been part of a four-year investigation into a massive staged automobile accident/fraudulent chiropractic clinic scheme based in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, InsuranceNewsNet.com reports.
Florida Regulators Consider NCCI Request for 3.3% Rate Decrease
Florida’s workers’ compensation insurers rating agency says its request for a 3.3 decrease in rates reflects a stable market, although it cautioned that pending court cases could severely impact the state’s system, Michael Adams reports for Insurance Journal.
Florida County Not Liable for Boy’s Death on Beach
A judge has ruled in favor of Volusia County in a family’s lawsuit over the death of their 4-year-old son who was fatally struck by a pickup truck on Daytona Beach, Associated Press reports via Insurance Journal.
Second Florida governor’s debate almost derailed – by a fan
It was probably the most attention-grabbing start of a debate in modern political history, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Phil Ammann reports.
- Scott, Crist debate gets off to bizarre start
- Charlie Crist, Rick Scott and a fan in one of the most bizarre debate moments ever (Video)
- Fangate: Cause, effect of Crist, Scott debate delay disputed (Video)
- Fangate! The transcript of the weirdest start to a Florida gubernatorial debate
- More mockery for Florida on “fangate”
- Gelber: Debate sponsors agreed to the fan
- Charlie Crist’s Fan Blows A Quick Money Pitch
- Fact-checking the second Crist vs. Scott debate
Headed into second debate, GOP leads absentee ballot chase by roughly 70,000
So far, just over 6 percent of Republicans have returned their absentee ballots, compared to 4 percent of Democrats, Matt Dixon reports on Scripps’ “Political Fix Florida” blog.
Appeals court upholds Miami-Dade law that limits absentee-ballot possession
Miami-Dade County’s law aimed at curbing absentee-ballot fraud has withstood a first big legal challenge, the Miami Herald’s David Ovalle reports via the “Naked Politics” blog.
Florida TaxWatch Looks at 2015 Budget Surplus
Florida TaxWatch noted on Wednesday that legislators will have a small surplus — $336.2 million — in the 2015 Session. While this is the fourth year in a row there was a surplus, the projected surplus is less than half of what it was this year. Kevin Derby reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
New Florida law a response to breaches in data security
Florida residents have a new safeguard in the form of a state law requiring companies and government agencies to protect individuals’ personal information stored electronically. Dave Hodges reports for the Tallahassee Democrat.
The Other University Presidency: University of Florida Selects Kent Fuchs
Cornell University Provost Kent Fuchs was selected quickly, and with little comment on Wednesday to lead the University of Florida’s efforts to improve its national academic reputation, FlaglerLive.com reports.
Daytona rental inspection law gets addition
Six weeks after the city was hit with a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging its 2-year-old residential rental inspection program is unconstitutional, city commissioners have approved a change to the city code governing that program, Eileen Zaffiro-Kean reports for the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Judge Halts Disposal in Louisiana of Texas Ebola-Tainted Ash
A state judge signed an order temporarily blocking ash from the incineration of a Texas Ebola victim’s belongings to be disposed of at a southwest Louisiana site, the Associated Press reports via Insurance Journal.
Massachusetts OKs Bill Providing Liability Coverage in FAIR Plan Dwelling Policy
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has signed into law a bill that would require the Massachusetts Property Insurance Underwriting Association – also known as the Massachusetts FAIR Plan – to have liability coverage included in its Non-Owner Occupied Dwelling policy for certain residential units, Insurance Journal reports.
Maryland Begins Electronic Filing of Court Documents
The Maryland court system is launching an electronic case management system to eventually enable people statewide to file and view court documents on their computers, the Associated Press reports via Insurance Journal.
Highway Guardrails May Be Deadly, States Say
Some federally funded highway guardrail heads have apparently malfunctioned, in essence turning the rails into spears when cars hit them and injuring people instead of cushioning the blow, the New York Times reports via Advisen.com.
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