Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, Aug. 3

Click on a headline to read the complete story:

 

Bill introduced to stabilize homeowners insurance, lower costs

WASHINGTON — Responding to a string of hurricanes that have torn through their districts in recent years, U.S. Reps. Tim Mahoney and Ron Klein plan to introduce a bill today that promises to bring relief to property owners struggling with the affordability and availability of homeowners insurance.

 

Editorial: Extend PIP coverage

On Oct. 1, a decades-old law requiring drivers in Brevard County and statewide to carry personal-injury protection auto insurance will squeal to a halt.

 

Patch Insurance Loopholes At Session, Legislator Urges

TALLAHASSEE – Declaring that the “property insurance wars have commenced,” state Rep. Dan Gelber on Wednesday called on Gov. Charlie Crist to add property insurance to the agenda of the upcoming special legislative session.

 

Prepare state for fight over insurance numbers

Gov. Crist got the insurance industry’s attention. It’s a start.

That’s what happens when a governor calls an entire industry “greedy” and threatens to file a lawsuit and issue subpoenas. Gov. Crist did so this week as he escalated the fight between the state and the private insurers that began two weeks ago when State Farm unexpectedly dropped 50,000 policies. Then on Monday, the state’s fourth-largest home insurer filed for an unexpected 54 percent rate increase.

 

Democrats lobby Crist for another special session on property insurance

TALLAHASSEE — Florida House Democrats want another special session to address property insurance.  Spokeswomen for both leaders said there have been no discussions to widen the upcoming special session to include property insurance.

 

House Committee Advances Bill to Extend Terrorism Reinsurance Backstop for 15 Years

The House Financial Services Committee voted yesterday to extend and expand the federal terrorism reinsurance law, going against the wishes of the Bush Administration.

 

Crist orders review — 6 bridges in Central Florida found ‘deficient’

Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday ordered transportation officials to do a comprehensive report on Florida bridges in the wake of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

 

Insurers Prepared for Claims from Fatal Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

The insurance industry is vowing to take care of any claims arising out of the Minneapolis bridge collapse tragedy without delay.

 

Tens of thousands of U.S. bridges rated deficient

WASHINGTON — More than 70,000 bridges across the country are rated structurally deficient like the span that collapsed in Minneapolis, and engineers estimate repairing them all would take at least a generation and cost more than $188 billion.

 

Crist signs hurricane-looter bill

STUART — Crooks who get caught breaking into homes and businesses looking for loot after hurricanes strike will face stiffer penalties, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist came to Martin County’s new emergency operations center Wednesday to drive that point home.

 

Virginia Judge Throws Out Controversial Bad Driving Fees

A Virginia judge has put up a roadblock to the state’s sizable penalties for bad driving.  In the first known court challenge to the fees, Henrico County General District Judge Archer L. Yeatts ruled that the new fees for bad driving are unconstitutional.

 

Shift No-Fault Discussion To Drivers’ Responsibilities

The demise of no-fault automobile insurance in Florida is inevitable unless Gov. Charlie Crist or legislative leaders expand the purpose of the year’s third special session called next month to deal with the state’s projected $1.5 billion budget shortfall.

 

State House Democrat blasts insurer `loopholes’

Declaring that ”the property insurance wars have commenced,” House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber on Wednesday asked the governor to add insurance to the agenda of the September special legislative session on budget cuts.

 

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty:  If insurers see a savings, then you should, too

Florida’s policymakers faced a formidable task as the Legislature convened for the January special session: Develop a strategy to handle the insurance crisis.

 

House Panel Extends TRIA, Adds 5 Years

The House Financial Services Committee voted to extend the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act on Wednesday, but not before adding another five years to the legislation.

 

Katrina victims lose in appeals court

NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Katrina victims whose homes and businesses were destroyed when floodwaters breached levees in the 2005 storm cannot recover money from their insurance companies for the damages, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

 

A hospital’s outrageous inhumanity

Those who run the emergency room at Bay Pines VA Medical Center let a loyal federal employee die of a heart attack in an adjacent building without lifting a finger to help because he wasn’t a military veteran.

 

Weston lawmaker requests state foster-care committee

A second South Florida legislator Thursday proposed creation of a special legislative committee to investigate living conditions for children in state custody and foster care.

 

Former National Hurricane Center director asks for job back

The ousted director of the National Hurricane Center has asked for his job back, saying his removal was improper.

 

State Rep. Allen explains sex case: Fear made me play along

State Rep. Bob Allen told police he was just playing along when a undercover officer suggested in a public restroom that the legislator give him oral sex and $20 because he was intimidated, according to a taped statement and other documents released Thursday.

 

Foster care inquiry sought

Two lawmakers request House-Senate investigation after recent failures.

Two state Democratic lawmakers asked for a legislative review of Florida’s public-private child welfare system Thursday, on the heels of several high-profile debacles involving dead, raped and missing children under the state’s care.

 

DCF pulls plug on $190 million computer system
 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Department of Children & Families is officially pulling the plug on an expensive and controversial computer system that was supposed to help child abuse investigators.

 

Audit Faults KidCare Spending

TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s health insurance program for low-income children misspent at least $18.7 million in federal money during the first half of 2005, federal auditors estimated in a report released Thursday.

 

R.I. report claims insurer made payoffs

Rhode Island’s main workers compensation insurer made political payoffs, undercharged companies with ties to politicians and misspent millions, according to a report released Thursday.

 

Fender-benders cost luxury car owners

Buying an expensive car can bring an owner style, prestige and repair bills in the thousands of dollars to fix damage caused by minor fender-benders.

 

Crist, Hulk are owed money; maybe you, too

TALLAHASSEE — (AP) — Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has returned a Purple Heart, rare coins and a $300,000 check from the $1 billion worth of unclaimed property the state is holding, but she still hasn’t walked down the hall to give Gov. Charlie Crist his check.