Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, November 26

Nov 26, 2013

 

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

 

There are no events scheduled for today.

 

 

Daily Florida Insurance-Related News

 

Motion for Rehearing of Florida PIP Injunction is Denied

The First District Court of Appeals has dismissed a motion for a rehearing on its ruling to reverse an injunction placed on reforms to Florida’s personal injury protection auto insurance system, Chad Hemenway reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.

 

Mild Hurricane Season Leaves Florida Unscathed

Florida is about to sail through another hurricane season — its eighth consecutive — free from a named storm severely pounding the state’s shores, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via the Lakeland Ledger.

 

Family evacuates when floor shifts in Tampa house

A family evacuated their house in Tampa after the floor in one room shifted, the Associated Press reports via the Miami Herald.

 

Medicaid Expansion In Florida Still Unlikely Amid Mixed Reports

Despite reporting that there is some effort to get Florida Republicans to accept federal dollars to expand Medicaid coverage to about a million people in the state, lawmakers and experts say this part of the Affordable Care Act still faces a tough fight in the Florida Legislature, writes Ashley Lopez for the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

 

Proposals would fight texting while driving, sinkholes

Florida legislators are in full law-proposing mode this month. Here are some of the bills introduced in the Capitol in recent days, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA reports via the Sun-Sentinel.

 

Florida orders restrictions on voters returning absentee ballots

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s chief elections official issued an order Monday to all 67 elections supervisors that imposes new restrictions on how and where voters can return completed absentee ballots, Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports.

 

Florida can use new drug in inmate executions, judge rules

Circuit Judge Phyllis Rosier, who held an evidentiary hearing ordered by the Florida Supreme Court last week, ruled that midazolam chloride is not just sufficient to render condemned killers incapable of feeling pain — it could kill them itself, in high enough doses, The Florida Current’s Bill Cotterell reports.

 

GOP calls grow for U.S. Representative Trey Radel to resign

Lee and Collier County Republicans, as well as the Republican Party of Florida, tonight called on U.S. Rep. Trey Radel to resign, adding to growing demands the lawmaker step down after pleading guilty to a cocaine charge, Tampa Bay Times’ Alex Leary reports.

 

Seminole sheriff withdraws from Governor Rick Scott’s lieutenant governor search

Seminole County Sheriff Don Eslinger on Monday formally declined Gov. Rick Scott’s offer to be considered as a possible lieutenant governor, becoming the second person on Scott’s four-person short list to turn him down, Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports.

 

Florida Economists:  No federal loans for jobless benefits, but system switch troubles forecast

There will be no federal loans to help pay state unemployment benefits for the foreseeable future — and therefore no interest assessments on businesses — state economists said Monday.  The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.

 

Gas Tax Fuels Dispute Between State, Tribe

A federal appeals court is poised to take up a long-running dispute about whether the Seminole Tribe of Florida should have to pay state taxes on fuel it uses on tribal lands, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Saunders reports via SunshineStateNews.com.

 

Fix Needed for the Fix:  Firm Says SMART Act Rule May Be Unworkable

A consulting firm involved in helping companies comply with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulations believes that a CMS-proposed rule designed to implement a new insurance claims-settlement law may be unworkable, Arthur Postal reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.

 

Casserole, Cocktails Equally Dangerous In Provoking Thanksgiving Lawsuits

“All hosts should be aware that if someone drives drunk or becomes sick after consuming food at a holiday party, the host could actually be liable,” says Robert A. Rusbuldt, Big “I” president & CEO. “In fact, a casserole could bring just as many risks as a cocktail.”  Hannah Bender reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.

 

Top 7 States for Turkey Fryer Fires

According to data from State Farm, more cooking fires occur on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year, Caterina Pontoriero reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.

 

 

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