Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, January 24
Jan 24, 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.–House Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- HB 313 relating to Premises Liability by State Representative Leonard Bembry
11:00 a.m.–House Session
- HB 307 relating to Workers’ Compensation Certificate-of-Exemption Process by State Representative Mack Bernard
- HB 4085 relating to Workers’ Compensation by State Representative Matthew Caldwell
2:00 p.m.–House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- HB 789 relating to Workers’ Compensation by State Representative H. Marlene O’Toole
- HB 1127 relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by State Representative Ben Albritton
- HB 1101 relating to Insurance by State Representative Mike Horner
3:30 p.m.–Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- SB 802 relating to Premises Liability by the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation
Former Florida Commissioner Who Helped Create Citizens Property Insurance Lobbies for Reforms
The insurance industry in Florida has a new ally as it pushes for reforms to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation: The man who helped launch the last-resort insurer.
Florida Supreme Court Rules Guaranty Fund Not Responsible for Legal Fees
Florida’s high court has ruled that the state fund charged with paying claims from insolvent insurers is not responsible for paying a claimant’s legal fees on a pre-insolvent claim unless they are specifically covered under the terms of their policy.
Letter to the Editor: Catastrophe fund
David Hart’s proposal in his January 16 Other Views article, Catastrophe fund, Citizens need reform, would be the nail in the coffin for many homeowners in Florida. We cannot afford anymore increases.
Blog: Workers and employers come together on wage theft bill
There’s been a significant hatchet-burying in Tallahassee, where advocates for low-wage workers and the business community are working together on a wage theft bill.
Florida House looking at establishing a health insurance exchange
Exchanges are centerpiece of federal health care reform. States without an operational exchange by January 2014 will be forced to use one run by the federal government.
Blog: Florida Senator Steve Oelrich announces he’ll seek new GOP congressional seat
Senator Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville, made it official Monday and filed paperwork to run for Congress in a new congressional seat in North Central Florida that appears to have emerged in both House and Senate redistricting maps.
Florida Senator Mike Bennett calls foul on sports teams’ homeless shelter violations
An obscure state law forcing sports arenas built using state taxpayers’ money to be used as homeless shelters or contract for a homeless shelter nearby, gone unenforced for decades, could get some new teeth under a bill sponsored by Senator Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton.
Internet sales tax bill hinges on House support
Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff, chair the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax, is drafting a committee bill to enact the tax, including sales tax cuts or holidays to keep the bill “revenue neutral.” Before finalizing the bill, though, she wants to make sure there is support for the measure in the House.
Blog: Energy advocates sue to throw out state’s nuclear cost recovery law
The state law that has allowed Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy to charge customers $1 billion so far for speculative nuclear power plants is unconstitutional, a group of energy advocates claims in a lawsuit before the state’s highest court.
Bills restricting local regulation of beekeepers and “agri-tourism” pass first committee stops
Beekeepers are concerned that local governments could create a patchwork of regulations and that prohibiting beekeepers from some suburban areas may allow aggressive Africanized honeybees to move in. And supporters of agri-tourism say visitors can help farms stay in business — without restrictive local regulations.
Blog: Ban on lawmakers on college payrolls barely passes panel
Senator John Thrasher’s ethics bill banning lawmakers from working for colleges and universities narrowly made it out of its first panel Monday, after questions about his intentions. “I have real problems with this bill. I’m all for cleaning up
New Jersey’s Insurance Regulator Tom Considine to Step Down
Tom Considine, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, is planning to step down in February, according to a local report, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Louisiana High Court Refuses to Overturn $92.7 million Citizens Property Insurance Ruling
The Louisiana Supreme Court says it won’t reconsider a $92.7 million judgment against Louisiana’s state-backed insurer of last resort for handling claims too slowly after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
Editorial: Texas coastal plan’s not just fun and games
A Houston-area storm buffer. Better promotion of tourist destinations in our part of the Gulf Coast. Ecological preservation. And jobs to boot! What’s not to love about the proposed Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area?
Feds ask: Can U.S. withstand extreme weather?
Severe weather took a large toll on life and property in the United States last year, partly because people did not trust or understand weather forecasters, an issue of growing concern for federal officials.
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