Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, February 21
Feb 21, 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
(CANCELED) 10:00 a.m.–Florida Surplus Lines Service Office National Clearinghouse Committee meeting. To view the meeting notice, click here.
3:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.–Senate Committee on Budget
- CS/SB 938 relating to Insurance Agents and Adjusters by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance; Senator Garrett Richter
- SB 1152 relating to Repeal of A Workers’ Compensation Independent Actuarial Peer Review Requirement by Senator Richter
Florida Wind Insurance Overhaul Unlikely to Pass
State lawmakers have gambled with their constituents’ money for years when it comes to dealing with Florida’s property insurance issues.
Florida Legislature unlikely to pass large-scale reforms of Citizens Property Insurance
For six years, Mother Nature has granted Florida uncommon tranquility along its 1,200-mile coastline, where the state’s peninsular mass dangles precariously in some of the world’s most hurricane-prone waters.
Seashore removes asphalt left by hurricanes
Chunks of asphalt left behind by hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005 are being removed from the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Special interests may derail Personal Injury Protection reforms
Year in and year out, top Florida policymakers argue that they need to reform the state’s required no-fault auto insurance, a system they say is riddled with fraud.
North Port man charged with workers compensation fraud
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has announced the arrest of a North Port man as a result of a fraudulent workers compensation claim.
Column: Drug Repackaging Bill Not Ready for Prime Time for Good Reason
Repeat bad information often enough and it sticks.
Lawmakers call off immunity measure
A bill aimed at protecting lawmakers from subpoenas hit a wall on Monday, as key lawmakers from both chambers said it had become entangled in the politics of redistricting.
Medical malpractice compromise dividing physicians
Broward County Medical Association has written letters to legislative leaders saying it opposes the medical malpractice bill that now includes provisions to allow optometrists to prescribe certain controlled substances.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agrees to delay federal pollution rules
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday agreed to delay the implementing federal pollution limits in Florida, a day after Governor Rick Scott signed legislation backing proposed state water quality rules.
- Judge backs federal agency’s decision to set pollution limits but throws out some of those standards
Redistricting legal battle begins in briefs filed with Florida Supreme Court
Groups calling for the state Supreme Court to reject the Florida Legislature’s redistricting plan are arguing that new constitutional provisions should raise the stakes of the first legal hurdle the new maps will have to clear before they take effect.
Blog: House lays out rules for the governor’s rules
The House set out to clarify the governor’s authority today and lay out how much power the executive office really has in restricting the rules that state agencies must invent in order to carry out new laws.
Expedited foreclosure bill moving in Florida Senate, but changes ahead
Legislation to speed up Florida’s foreclosure process passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, but the bill is likely to undergo a series of tweaks before it hits the floor in either chamber.
University of South Florida Funding Feud Could Be Headed to Senate Floor Showdown
The Senate may be headed toward another floor showdown, this time over funding cuts for the University of South Florida.
Cash-rich charter school networks would gain under Legislature’s funding plan
A legislative plan to give charter schools a cut of local school districts’ construction money would steer millions of additional dollars to large charter-school networks that are already sitting on tens of millions of dollars in cash, records show.
Senate Budget Chief J.D. Alexander on higher education cuts: Still looking for ‘what fair is’
University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft and Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander held a closed-door huddle Monday over the Senate’s deep cut in financing for the Tampa-based school, which supporters said was retribution for the administration’s alleged resisting of Alexander’s push to make University of South Florida Polytechnic an independent university.
Blog: Three Diaz de la Portilla brothers in the Florida Legislature…at the same time?
Looks like all three Miami Republican Diaz de la Portilla brothers — Alex, Miguel and Renier — hope to be on the ballot this fall seeking seats in the Florida Legislature at the same time.
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