Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, September 17
Sep 17, 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
8:30 a.m.–Florida Automobile Joint Underwriting Association Board of Governors meeting. Tampa, Florida. Teleconference: (877) 826-6967; conference ID: 2867636526#.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Gilway to Citizens policyholders: Please leave
Barry Gilway is a decidedly rare breed: A chief executive who really wants you to take your business to one of his competitors, reports Maria Mallory White for the Sun-Sentinel.
Former Allstate Employee Convicted in Florida Insurance Scam
Yarden Lee Bracero, 39, a former Allstate employee in Jacksonville was convicted for diverting claims payments for her own personal use, ClaimsJournal.com reports.
Pines chiropractor charged with fraud
A Pembroke Pines chiropractor was arrested for illegally soliciting accident victims after obtaining unauthorized media credentials to find people who had been in a car crash, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced Monday, the Sun-Sentinel reports.
Florida tops in secure bridges
The Sunshine State is tied with Nevada for the lowest rate of structurally deficient bridges at 2.2 percent, according to a new report from “Governing” magazine, writes Gray Rohrer for The Florida Current.
Mississippi lawmakers hear about BlueCross dispute with Florida-based Health Management Associates
Health Management Associates, a Florida-based company that owns 10 Mississippi hospitals, sued Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi for $13 million in June, saying that the insurance company broke contract terms by underpaying for procedures. Blue Cross says HMA overcharges, the Tampa Tribune reports.
Without funding, Florida tries other ways to publicize texting ban
Starting Oct. 1, texting while driving will be illegal in Florida, but absent state funding to promote the law, efforts to get the public up to speed with the changes could be spotty, Rochelle Koff reports for Tampa Bay Times.
Florida Democrats and Republicans Exchange Shots Over Rick Scott’s Proposed Tax Cuts
On Monday, the Florida Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) exchanged shots over Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to slash $500 million in taxes from the state budget, reports Kevin Derby for SunshineStateNews.com.
Surprise! Florida just found $846 million in the couch cushions
Florida legislature’s economic forecasting office presented a draft (note: draft!) report that projected an $846 million budget surplus for the fiscal year that starts next July. Unsurprisingly, state lawmakers are already jockeying over what to do with it, reports NPR-affiliate WFCU, the Washington Post’s Niraj Chokshi blogs.
Florida Supreme Court to decide whether legislators have to testify
Groups suing over the way legislators drew new districts for the state Senate and U.S. Congress want to interview legislators, but justices sound skeptical about whether state legislators must answer questions in a long-running political battle, The Florida Current’s Bill Cotterell reports.
Florida Official to Make New Anti-Voter Fraud Push
Providing supervisors of elections with the documentation they want before removing potential non-citizens from the voting rolls shouldn’t be a problem, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said Monday, reports THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam via the Lakeland Ledger.
A deputy secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has resigned amid the process of identifying which state lands can be sold as surplus, The Florida Current’s Bruce Ritchie reports.
2014 Florida Governor’s Race is Heating Up
All signs show the Florida gubernatorial race is starting to heat up as Rick Scott pushes his tax cuts and two major potential Democratic candidates lay out new timetables to decide whether to enter the race, Jeff Henderson reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
House candidate Amanda Murphy, a Pasco County Democrat, had a client refunded $200,000 as part of a 2011 payback agreement federal regulators reached with Tampa-based Raymond James Financial Services, Florida Times-Union’s Matt Dixon reports.
Eric Fowler Jumps Into Broward County Battle for Perry Thurston’s House Seat
With House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston of Fort Lauderdale facing term limits in 2014, a new Democratic candidate filed paperwork to launch a bid to replace him in representing parts of Broward County, SunshineStateNews.com’s Kevin Derby reports.
Rick Scott announces trade mission to Dominican Republic
Gov. Rick Scott announced his next trade mission today from his @ItsWorkingFL Twitter account devoted to jobs and economic news, reports Tampa Bay Times’ Tia Mitchell.
Texas Windstorm Insurance Rates to Rise Again in January
The board of Texas insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast voted at its August meeting to raise premium rates beginning in January 2014, Stephanie K. Jones reports in Insurance Journal.
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