Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, June 14

Jun 14, 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

 

9:30 a.m.–Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Proposed Rule Hearing;  

  • 69O-137.001:  Annual and Quarterly Reporting Requirements.  To view the hearing notice and proposed Rule text, click here.
  • 69O-138.001:  NAIC Financial Examiners Handbook Adopted.  To view the hearing notice and proposed Rule text, click here.

10:00 a.m.–Florida Surplus Lines Service Office National Clearinghouse Committee meeting. Agenda includes issues pertaining to the proposed national surplus lines tax clearinghouse.  To view the meeting notice, click here.

 

 

Daily Insurance-Related News

 

Governor Scott declares wildfire, drought emergency in Florida 

Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in Florida due to wildfires and drought conditions.

 

Monroe County in a quandary over Federal Emergency Management Agency rules

A new state law is making it more difficult for Monroe County to enforce federal flood Insurance rules, which in turn puts the county’s eligibility for federally subsidized insurance at risk.

 

Property and Casualty Insurance Industry Wins, Loses in Governor Scott’s First Session

It is axiomatic in Florida that when it comes to the legislature and insurance issues, the power brokers play for the last 72 hours.

 

West Palm Beach officials warn city could run out of water in less than 2 months

If the worst drought in county history continues, West Palm Beach could run out of water in less than two months, city officials warned on Monday as they further tightened water restrictions and enforcement.

 

Fees approved for Securities and Exchange Commission’s Weiss case administrator

Thousands in fees were approved June 13 for the tax administrator from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2006 case against Jupiter-based Weiss Research, founder Martin Weiss and contractor Lawrence Edelson.

 

When a hurricane approaches South Florida, will technology stand up to the storm?

Next time a hurricane hits, families will turn to their smartphones to stay in touch, track the storm and find the shortest gasoline lines.

 

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater Announces Arrest of North Carolina Man in $2.7 Million Workers Compensation Insurance Scam

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced today the arrest of a North Carolina man in a $2.7 million workers compensation Insurance scam.

 

Independent pharmacies raise concerns about Florida Medicaid overhaul

The state’s plan to steer almost 3 million low-income, elderly and disabled Floridians into managed care health coverage drew wide-ranging criticism Friday in the first of a series of public hearings on the proposed overhaul.

 

Environmental Protection Agency will wait for Florida to adopt pollution limits before withdrawing federal standards

Governor Rick Scott and the Department of Environmental Protection asked the federal agency to withdraw proposed water quality standards that industry and agricultural groups say will be difficult and expensive to meet.

 

Senator Mike Bennett drops bid for U.S. Congress

State Senator Mike Bennett, who had been talking about running against U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, announces that he will not seek a seat in Congress during the 2012 elections.

 

State Cuts Unemployment Checks to Lowest in Nation

Governor Rick Scott will shortly begin his assault on Florida’s unemployed.

 

Blog:  Governor Scott reshuffles Enterprise Florida

Governor Rick Scott erased some of the last vestiges of his predecessor on the board of  Enterprise Florida, removing a pair of former Governor Charlie Crist’s big fund-raisers and replacing them with two advisers of his own.

 

Blog:  Police officers, fed up with Governor Rick Scott, leaving Republican Party en masse

Next month the Broward County Police Benevolent Association is holding a “Party to Leave the Party” – an event coordinated with the Supervisor of Elections where police officers and the general public can switch their voter registrations from Republican to Democratic or Independent, writes Stefan Kamph.

 

Florida Democrats start ‘project turnaround’ to gear up for 2012 election

The Florida Democratic Party, badly beaten at the state level but showing signs of life in some big-city elections, brought its leaders together with some well-heeled lobbyists at an oceanside resort Friday to start a “project turnaround” effort for 2012.

 

Florida’s growth rate has dropped sharply during Great Recession

A University of Florida study shows that while Florida had one of the leading growth rates in the nation in the last 10 years that rate has slowed down considerably.

 

PolitiFact:  Governor Rick Scott says state debt is $23 billion

Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed a record $615 million from the 2011-12 state budget on May 26, 2011, targeting an array of money for projects such as university buildings, a rainwater study and $4.8 million for public broadcasting.

 

Editorial:  Corporate tax cheats cost Florida millions

Newly disclosed documents from a Georgia lawsuit show that major online hotel booking services have systemically schemed since at least 2004 to avoid paying full sales and bed taxes in Florida and across the country.

 

Department of Community Affairs holding workshops on growth management legislation

The Florida Department of Community Affairs has scheduled a series of workshops around the state to discuss growth management legislation and its impact on the department.

 

FBI subpoenas former Florida House Speaker Sansom’s travel records

Former Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom won in state court on charges of slipping a $6 million airport project into a state budget, but the federal government is still investigating his travel expenses for the years he was one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers.

 

Government Accountability Office Report Criticizes Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Management Of National Flood Insurance Program

The Government Accountability Office has issued a scathing report on the management of the National Flood Insurance Program, and also notes that under current conditions there is no way the program will ever be “financially sound.”

 

Transatlantic Re, Allied World Agree To $3.2 billion Merger

Yesterday, Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. and Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, AG announced a $3.2 billion merger deal that executives say will create a global specialty insurer and reinsurer operating in 18 countries on six continents.

 

South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Two-Tier Damages Cap

South Carolina’s two-tier statutory cap on damages is constitutional, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

 

Supreme Court Defines Primary Liability in Mutual Fund Prospectus Case

Janus Capital Group Inc. and a subsidiary cannot be held liable in a lawsuit by shareholders over allegedly false statements in prospectuses for several Janus mutual funds, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.

 

Louisiana Governor Keeps Group Benefits Privatization Report Secret

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s administration handed over to senators a report involving efforts to privatize a state worker health insurance program, but has asked them to keep the document secret.

 

 

 

 

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