Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday. February 1
Feb 1, 2012
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 2012 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. to 10:30 a.m.–House Economic Affairs Committee. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- CS/HB 789 relating to Workers’ Compensation by the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; State Representative H. Marlene O’Toole
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.–House Judiciary Committee. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- HB 243 relating to Expert Testimony by State Representative Larry Metz
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.–Senate Committee on Budget. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- SB 140 relating to Repeal of a Workers’ Compensation Reporting Requirement by Senator Mike Bennett
9:30 a.m.–Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Audit Committee meeting. Teleconference: (866) 361-7525; conference code: 3877541849. To view the meeting notice, click here.
11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.–House Appropriations Committee. To access the meeting packet, click here.
- HB 5203 relating to Reemployment Services by Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee; State Representative H. Marlene O’Toole
- HB 5505 relating to the Florida Department of Financial Services by the House Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee
1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.–Senate Session
- SB 446 relating to Open Government Sunset Review/Insurance Claim Data Exchange Information/Past Due Child Support by the Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.–Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- SB 1682 relating to Hurricane Loss Mitigation Program by Senator Alan Hays
Florida Senator Mike Fasano: Insurance bill is dangerous to homeowners
This week the Florida House of Representatives is poised to take up HB 245, which is scheduled to be considered Thursday on the House floor.
A.M. Best Downgrades Peachtree Casualty Due to Florida Auto Results
A.M. Best has downgraded the financial ratings of Peachtree Casualty Insurance Co., citing the insurer’s poor underwriting results due in part to rising costs associated with Florida’s troubled no-fault automobile insurance market.
House Republicans won’t hike state officials’ insurance premiums
Florida House Republicans are planning on keeping a perk for state officials that keeps their health insurance premiums low. A House panel on Wednesday is scheduled to vote on a nearly $69.2 billion budget for 2012.
Worker’s compensation bill has support in Florida House
A bill to allow workers compensation insurance companies to keep about $25 million a year instead of returning the windfall to the businesses that pay the premiums passed a House committee on Monday with the support of two of the state’s biggest business advocates.
Bill to curb errant doctors’ drug-prescribing rights is likely dead
The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on Tuesday temporarily passed the bill pushed by the Florida Department of Health Secretary and State Surgeon General Frank Farmer that would have allowed him to restrict licenses via emergency orders, but the panel foresees no more meetings this year.
Voters in two rural Florida counties approve Las Vegas-style slot machines
Voters in the rural North Florida counties of Gadsden and Washington on Tuesday became the first in the state outside of Miami-Dade and Broward to agree to install slot machines, as voters approved referendums to bring Las Vegas-style slots to their local horse and dog tracks.
- Volusia County Council to consider slot-machine vote
- Lee County Commissioners approve referendum on slot machines
Invictus: 72 Florida banks at risk for failure
Florida has 72 banks at risk for failure over the next two years, according to a new analysis by Invictus Consulting Group, which conducts stress and sustainability tests on all FDIC-insured banks for regulators, banks and investors.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Appeals Court Turns Away Challenge to Fair Districts Amendment
A federal appellate court on Tuesday upheld a 2010 constitutional amendment that attempts to ensure that congressional political districts are drawn fairly, rejecting an appeal backed by the Republican-led Florida Legislature.
Lawmaker pitches school tax swap
Cash-strapped school districts may soon have an alternative to the property tax revenue that currently funds construction and maintenance.
Florida’s House Insurance and Banking subcommittee recently sent a message to Florida’s municipalities when it voted 8-7 to not allow credit unions to accept public deposits.
Objections to pension changes take sponsor by surprise
One of the architects of sweeping government pension legislation passed last session said he was taken by surprise when a host of public employees opposed a measure that would walk back one of its most contentious provisions.
Florida Senate panel to move on Internet sales tax bill
Newly filed SB 7206 would force online retailers to pay Florida’s 6 percent sales tax. Current law, enacted before the Internet existed, is a self-enforced call for sales taxes on out-of-state mail-order sales, but few, if any, online shoppers pay it.
Blog: Florida Senate prison privatization debate to continue Wednesday
The Senate will continue its discussion on prison privatization.
Adam Hasner dropping Senate bid, takes aim at Congress
Struggling in the polls, Adam Hasner pulled out of the U.S. Senate race Tuesday to run in a South Florida congressional district vacated by Rep. Allen West.
U.S. Representative Allen West to leave seat for one to the north
U.S. Representative Allen West announced Tuesday he will leave his district to seek re-election in a more solidly Republican district being created to the north, as RepresentativeTom Rooney vacates that territory to seek a new seat to the west.
U.S. Representative Sandy Adams will run in new 7th Congressional District
Representative Sandy Adams, the former deputy county sheriff who has represented northern Brevard County since January 2011, announced Tuesday she’ll run in one of two newly created congressional districts the state Legislature is expected to approve this week.
Former Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson has filed once again to run for the state House of Representative seat that is currently held by Ron Saunders.
Judge Stops Attorneys From Seizing Louisiana Last-Resort Insurer Funds
A judge Monday stopped attorneys trying to seize bank accounts of Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort to collect more than $100 million they won for homeowners who claimed the company dragged its heels in adjusting hurricane claims in 2005.
Mississippi Wind Pool Goes Shopping for Reinsurance in London
Members of Mississippi’s wind pool board are in London this week to seek low reinsurance rates – a key factor in the cost of policyholders’ premiums.
Watchdog: Auto Insurers Overcharging The Poor
The car owners who are least able to afford high auto insurance rates are getting charged the most for coverage, according to a consumer watchdog group.
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