Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, April 24
Apr 24, 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
Florida’s 2013 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.-Florida House of Representatives Session. Agenda includes:
- CS/HB 157 relating to the Delivery of Insurance Policies by State Representative Doug Holder
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.-Florida Senate Session. Agenda includes:
- CS/CS/SB 468 relating to Property and Casualty Insurance Rates and Forms by Senator Dorothy Hukill
- CS/SB 1770 relating to Property Insurance by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance
- SB 706 relating to Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage by Senator Bill Montford
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Senator David Simmons, State Representative Bryan Nelson Discuss Where Insurance Premium Dollars Go
Approximately 72 cents of every insurance premium dollar goes to cover catastrophe and non-catastrophe losses, explain Senator David Simmons and State Representative Bryan Nelson.
Expected Insurance Rate Hikes Spook Florida Condo Owners
Many vacation rentals soon could come off the market as condo owners try to avoid big property insurance rate increases, triggering concerns about lost tourist revenue and jobs, writes Zac Anderson of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Editorial: Florida insurance lobby still calling the shots
Florida’s powerful insurance lobby is fighting a rear-guard action in Tallahassee that has been largely ignored by an all-too-gullible public, a KeysNet.com Editorial says.
Editorial: Citizens Property Insurance Reform Should Not Be Delayed
Reform efforts aimed at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation stalled last week, but legislators should not put off fixing Florida’s skewed property insurance market, a Daytona Beach News-Journal Editorial explains.
Florida stakeholders reach deal on workers’ compensation drug repackaging
Florida business groups and medical groups reached a deal on capping the costs of repackaged drugs, clearing a hurdle for SB 662 as it heads to the Senate floor, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Florida Drug Compounder Issues Recall
A Florida-based compounding pharmacy is voluntarily recalling all lots of its sterile non-expired drug products sold nationwide over concerns the products are not sterile and may contain bacteria, the Associated Press reports in Insurance Journal.
James Madison Institute Says More Tort Reform Needed to Change “Judicial Hellhole”
Defendants and their insurers often calculate correctly that settling lawsuits is cheaper – in the short run, at least, the James Madison Institute says. And these settlements also allow the personal-injury attorneys to say, “See, there aren’t many of those multimillion dollar jury awards that business owners, insurance companies, and doctors are always griping about.”
Florida House, Senate Stonewall on Medicaid
Even though Republican Governor Rick Scott announced his support for Medicaid expansion and more recently as business interests, labor advocates and health care providers rallied behind a proposal from a Republican senator that would funnel billions of federal dollars into private insurance, Republican leaders in the House still seem unwilling to accept any money tied to the federal Affordable Care Act, Kelli Kennedy and Gary Fineout of the Associated Press report in The Miami Herald.
Florida oil spill lawsuit seeks $5.5 billion from BP, Halliburton
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced the state is seeking $5.5 billion from BP and Halliburton for lost revenue from the 2010 oil spill, Matthew Beaton of the Panama City News-Herald reports.
Blog: Legislators want fracking chemicals disclosed
Mary Ellen Klas of The Miami Herald explains that the “The Fracturing Chemical Usage Disclosure Act,” sponsored by Rep. Ray Rodriques, R-Estero, would require the state Division of Resource Management to set up an online chemical registry for owners and operators of wells, service companies, and suppliers that use hydraulic fracturing.
During final Session weeks, Governor pushes hard for agenda
Gov. Rick Scott is making veiled veto threats of top House and Senate priorities such as ethics and elections bills as it looks increasingly unlikely that lawmakers will approve his top priorities of an across-the-board pay raise for teachers and a manufacturing tax cut, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Florida lawmakers increasingly skeptical of tax breaks, incentives
In addition to the subdued tax package, lawmakers in both chambers — but especially the Senate — are taking a fresh look at existing tax breaks, looking to repeal them, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Seven qualify for special Florida House District 2 election
Six Republicans and one Democrat have qualified to run for the state House District 2 seat left vacant by the recent death of Rep. Clay Ford, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
State Representative Doug Holder Files to Run Five Years from Now
A lot can happen between now and 2018. But that hasn’t stopped State Representative Doug Holder from launching a 2018 campaign, SunshineStateNews.com‘s Jeff Henderson reports.
Developer gets six months in prison for illegal campaign contributions
Pensacola developer Jay Odom was sentenced to six months in federal prison Tuesday for campaign contribution fraud, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
Alimony Bill Heads to Governor as Floridians Weigh in
SB 718 has passed in the House and Senate and went to the governor on Tuesday, while thousands of Floridians are contacting Governor Scott urging him to sign or veto it, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Margie Menzel reports.
Louisiana Senate Unanimously Agrees Citizens Rate Increases Require Legislative OK
Louisiana’s Senate agreed in a 36-0 vote that hefty rate hikes for customers of Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort should require legislative approval, WVUE FOX TV reports.
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