Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, March 15
Mar 15, 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
Florida’s 2011 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
8:00 a.m.–Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
- SB 636 relating to the Repeal of Obsolete Insurance Provisions by Senator David Simmons
3:15 p.m.–Senate Committee on Budget
- SB 408 relating to Property and Casualty Insurance by Senator Garrett Richter
- SB 484 relating to Discriminatory Taxes/Reinsurance by Senator Alan Hays
(NOTE: To access a live Webcast of both Committee meetings on The Florida Channel, click here.)
Blog: Senate Bill 2044 Among Vetoes Being Considered for Override
Cannon, Haridopolos suggests members consider overriding Crist’s vetoes from 2010, including controversial House Bill 1143 abortion legislation
Speaker Dean Cannon, in a memo to House members on Monday, didn’t just let them know that it was still possible to override vetoes, he encouraged it.
Homeowners dodge total rewire as Citizens Insurance approves much cheaper fix for aluminum wiring
Florida homeowners with aluminum-wired homes got a break Monday.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a summary judgment yesterday, March 14, 2011, in finding that an insurance policy issued by Amerisure Insurance Company did not cover the cost of demolishing and rebuilding the mislocated foundation of a Bonita Springs construction project built by Precise.
Blog: Florida trial lawyers, manufacturers in showdown over “crashworthiness”
Florida Senate lawmakers will consider a bill tomorrow that redefines a 10-year legal precedent called the “crashworthiness doctrine,” allowing jurors to consider the fault of the driver when determining damages in a lawsuit against a vehicle manufacturer for a car defect, reports Lilly Rockwell of the News Service of Florida.
Florida auto insurance cheaper than average, survey finds
Florida may still be one of the most expensive markets in the country for property insurance, but it’s cruising comfortably as a competitive market for auto insurance.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater: Putting the brakes on auto insurance fraud
Floridians are getting ripped off by the cost of auto insurance fraud. The evidence is piling up right along with the bills.
HomeWise Insurance Signs Headquarters Relocation Lease in Tampa
HomeWise Insurance Group has signed a lease for 17,811 square feet of office space at Duke Realty’s Highland Oaks, an eight-building, 1.03 million-square-foot Class A office park located at the Interstate-75/MLK Jr. Boulevard interchange in Tampa
Florida Lawmakers To Consider Flurry Of Insurance Bills This Session
Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos opened the 2011 State Legislative Session late last week, beginning a new round in the reform fight for the insurance industry.
Governor Scott calls on officials to review nuclear disaster response
Governor Rick Scott has asked Florida emergency officials to review response plans in the event of disasters at any of the five nuclear reactors operating in the state.
Florida calendar crisis easing, Iowa poised to go first
The way is clearing for Iowa’s caucuses to remain the first contest of the 2012 Republican presidential campaign, although the date they will be held remains uncertain.
Florida Senate panel OKs halting automatic union dues payment
Legislation that would prevent union dues from being automatically withheld from workers’ paychecks has passed its first Senate committee.
Florida Senate relaxes e-Verify requirement in bill
Score one for business in the latest round of debate over proposed immigration reform in the Florida Senate.
Florida Senate panel strengthens drug monitoring
A proposal to strengthen a planned system to monitor prescription drugs in Florida has the unanimous approval of a Senate committee, but the governor – who questions its effectiveness – wants to repeal the program before it even begins.
Senate committee approves amended gun bill
Against the advice of sheriffs and retailers, a Senate committee approved a stripped-down bill today that would permit concealed-weapons permit holders to wear their guns openly in public.
State Senate set for vote on Florida revenue cap
A proposed state revenue cap similar to Colorado’s “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” is set for a floor vote in the Florida Senate.
Former state legislator Adam Hasner all but declares U.S. Senate run
Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner has formed an exploratory committee for an expected U.S. Senate run, the latest sign that Florida may have a sizable crowd of Republicans running to unseat Democratic Senator Bill Nelson.
Florida overhauling abuse hot line after girl’s death
The head of Florida’s child welfare agency announced major changes Monday to an abuse hot line and other reforms, vowing to help overburdened child protective investigators after the death of a girl whose body was found in her adoptive father’s truck.
Florida Senate committee part of national trend in passing anti-abortion bills
Fueled by the November elections and their opposition to the federal health care law, Florida GOP lawmakers this spring are pushing a record number of measures severely restricting access to abortions.
New Florida prison chief bans tobacco in 6 months
Florida’s new prison chief is just saying no to smoking and other tobacco use.
Tampa ranks #1, while Orlando is in the Top Ten of Men’s Health magazine’s list of the 100 most socially networked cities in America, which was determined by calculating the number of Facebook and LinkedIn users per capita, followed by overall Twitter usage, traffic generated by the major social networks, including Myspace, Friendster, Reddit, and Digg and factored in the percentage of households that check out chat rooms and blogs.
No-fault claims top New York insurance fraud list
Almost nine in 10 suspected health care fraud cases in New York last year came from no-fault auto injury claims, a cottage industry so rife with abuse that the state Insurance Department wants to tighten regulations.
Aflac dumps duck voice actor for tasteless tweets
Aflac Inc. said Monday it has fired Gilbert Gottfried, the abrasive voice of the insurer’s quacking duck in the U.S., after the comedian posted a string of mocking jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on Twitter over the weekend.
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