Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, April 20
Apr 20, 2009
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Florida Senate to debate Citizens Insurance rate increase bill
Broad property insurance legislation that would allow Citizens Property Insurance to increase rates by a statewide average of 10 percent a year is headed to the Senate floor.
Property insurance bill advances to state Senate floor
Insurance premiums would increase for more than 66,000 resident and commercial policies in Southwest Florida covered by the state-run insurance pool under a measure a key Senate panel passed Friday.
Blog: Rep. Hays wants to cut 26 OIR spots, tells Office to ‘make it work’
Rep. Alan Hays, no fan of regulation, wants the Office of Insurance Regulation to cut 26 positions — 23 of them currently filled.
Brush fire grows from 4 to 400 acres in east Orange County; evacuees allowed to go home
Orange County firefighters struggled today to get an east Orange County brush fire under control, battling shifting winds and low humidity for most of the day. About 200 residents near Belvedere and East Orlando roads evacuated for several hours while the Division of Forestry and Orange County Fire Rescue worked to build fire lines and fight the flames.
Homeowners insurance deregulation may get lawmakers’ OK
A bill to allow rate-deregulated homeowners insurance policies seems to have momentum in the Legislature in the final two weeks of session.
Florida to test air quality in homes with Chinese drywall
Florida officials will soon begin air-quality tests in homes to determine whether fumes emitted from Chinese-made drywall can make people sick, the state Health Department said Friday.
Lennar says insurance will cover replacement of sulfur drywall
Miami homebuilder Lennar, the second-worst performer among U.S. homebuilding stocks last year, announced that it’s a defendant in a lawsuit over drywall in its houses; the company has begun to identify which homes contain the Chinese-manufactured drywall, which emits sulfur gases, according to a regulatory filing Monday.
New plan calls for public-private partnership to solve Florida’s insurance conundrum
The start of hurricane season is only six weeks away. Are you ready?
Property insurance: Give consumers real choices
With hurricane season approaching, Floridians face increasing risks from poor public policy that makes it difficult to protect their homes.
Editorial: Don’t forsake homeowners
Before Florida’s legislators take a hammer to reforms that for two years kept homeowners’ insurers in check, their constituents ought to remind them why those reforms were needed in the first place.
Letter: Stormy weather for non-profits
The structure of the current Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. leaves not-for-profits, such as Catholic Charities, vulnerable to pay assessments that could amount to thousands of dollars per year should a major storm strike Florida, reducing available program funds to serve clients.
Letter: State Farm gets Crist’s ‘Ponzi’ setup
I read with interest your editorial comments “Reducing Florida’s Risk.” Maybe a consumer’s comment would be appropriate.
About 40 local governments in Florida, Gainesville included, are using or planning to use automated cameras that allow citations to be sent automatically to vehicle owners who run red lights. This piecemeal, city-by-city, response to red-light running isn’t ideal.
Red Light Cameras: Tallahassee Needs to Catch Up
Many local governments in Florida – including Lakeland – have seen the light.
Editorial: Battling over workers’ comp
Proposed bills would help Florida’s contractors
Florida’s contractors have faced an unprecedented downturn in the market.
State budget talks stalled; House insisting no new taxes be included in state spending plan
House and Senate budget negotiations stalled before they even got started Sunday, raising the chance that the 2009 legislative session won’t end on time next week.
Summer days a bit longer in the capital
Some lawmakers, and Crist, signal they won’t back down so easily.
As they begin negotiating on the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, lawmakers have a list of thorny issues to work through.
Florida‘s Building Proposals On Rise
A development boom is brewing under the radar of Floridians distracted by deteriorating real estate values and record foreclosures.
Florida GOP chairman Jim Greer considers U.S. House seat, punctures Marco Rubio’s Senate hopes
The Florida Republican Party chairman confirmed to the Buzz that he’s thinking of running against Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach in 2010.
Bowen Leaving Race for Agriculture Commissioner
Marty Bowen, former speaker pro tem of the Florida House, businesswoman and member of a Winter Haven citrus family, said Sunday that she is withdrawing from the race for commissioner of agriculture.
Even in tough times, political cash still flows to Florida lawmakers
Almost $4 million in political contributions washed through the state Capitol since January, far more cash than lawmakers reaped during a similar period last election season, according to new campaign finance reports.
Shuttle’s fate nears point of no return
The end of the space-shuttle era begins next month.
BankUnited Financial Corp., the largest Florida-based financial institution, says its equity is completely wiped out.
Florida AG’s office to be featured on Oprah today
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum says his office’s CyberCrime Unit will be featured on the “Oprah Winfrey Show.”
An Allstate Op-Ed Piece Sparks N.Y. Inquiry
New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo announced today that he has begun an inquiry into whether Allstate Corporation engaged in illegal participation in unregulated insurance markets.
Report Focuses on Gulf Coast, East Coast Regions Where Few Steps Have Been Taken So Far to Address Rising Sea and Storm Threats
Responding to steadily escalating Katrina-like property and insurance damages linked to global climate change, The Heinz Center and Ceres will release at 11 a.m. EDT on April 23, a “Resilient Coasts Blueprint” defining policy changes and common sense actions that could cut future losses by as much as half along U.S. coastlines.
NAIC Task Force Votes Down Bid To Ease Rate Regulations
A National Association of Insurance Commissioners task force voted to continue using existing model laws as guidelines for a personal lines regulatory framework and rejected a bid for a less restrictive system.
New Orleans Levee Settlement Bogged Down
The January agreement for government units in charge of New Orleans levees to pay something to property owners damaged by the flooding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita is now mired in a coverage dispute.
Lawsuit Against Army Corps Over Katrina Begins
A groundbreaking civil suit begins in federal court here today to consider claims by property owners that the Army Corps of Engineers amplified the destructive effects of Hurricane Katrina by building a poorly designed navigation channel adjacent to the city.
Massachusetts Mutual Life Sued in Madoff Scandal
Investors of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff have filed 18 lawsuits against Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. in an effort to recoup $3.3 billion that its hedge fund group lost in the scandal.
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