Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, January 31
Jan 31, 2011
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
State Farm wants to raise average rates by 28 percent
State Farm Florida Insurance, the Florida’s largest private property insurer, wants to raise rates by a statewide average of 28 percent.
Blog: Centers for Disease Control: Chinese drywall did not cause 11 Florida deaths
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that defective Chinese drywall did not cause the deaths of 11 people in Florida and three other states
Florida Stops 4 Firms Selling Motor Vehicle Service Agreements
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has issued a cease and desist order shutting down a number of insurers for the unauthorized marketing and sale of automobile service warranty insurance products.
Monroe County wins again on illegal enclosures
Florida Supreme Court says ‘no’ to property enclosure
Some three years worth of appeals all the way up to the Florida Supreme Court have led Big Pine Key homeowner Sandra Carter right back where she started — Monroe County Code Compliance.
Former State Representative Don Brown: A property insurance redo
Florida hasn’t felt the fury of hurricane-force winds for five years, yet our state’s property-insurance market remains broken and a real threat to job creation and economic recovery.
Letter to the Editor: A giveaway to Florida property insurers
Our so-called representatives are going to stick it to us again with their changes in the way Florida regulates property insurers.
PFM Asset Management Chosen as Investment Manager for Citizens Insurance
PFM Asset Management LLC has been formally retained as an investment manager by Citizens Property Insurance of Florida, one of the nation’s largest state-sponsored property and casualty insurers, it was announced today.
Florida Chamber News: Lawmakers Commit to Insurance Reform
During a bipartisan panel discussion on Friday in Orlando, state lawmakers joined together in tackling major reforms needed in Florida’s insurance system.
Florida officials hold Severe Weather Awareness Week
Take cover! It’s Florida Severe Weather Awareness Week.
Roughly 1 in 10 speeding tickets issued in Florida is written on the roadsides of Palm Beach County
Drivers use terms that are not found in engineering reports to describe what they consider speed traps in Palm Beach County.
Like “ridiculous.” And “grrr.”
U.S. Judge Rules Against Obamacare in Virginia, Bolsters Florida’s Case
A U.S. judge today ruled that the federal health-care law was unconstitutional, handing a preliminary victory to Virginia and bolstering the case of Florida and 19 other states that have filed similar challenges.
Column: State Employee Health Insurance Costs May be the Next Target
While everybody has been paying attention to the Florida Retirement System, it looks as if the state employee health insurance system is in for some revision, too, in the 2011 legislative session.
Florida physicians take on National Rifle Association in gun privacy issue
Advocates say the bill offers critical privacy protection for firearms owners; some doctors say their patients’ safety comes before privacy in all cases.
Over the past three decades, Jeff Goldhagen has counseled countless parents on how to keep their kids safe around guns.
Florida Company Makes Money Challenging Drug Companies
Last December, a specialty pharmacy in Florida enjoyed its best month ever — posting a hefty $168.7 million in revenues.
Fewer people moving to Florida, census estimates show
Lack of jobs, housing bust and Great Recession kept people from moving
Faced with a dramatic decline in the number of Americans moving to Florida, community boosters are promoting the Sunshine State as a cluster of research and technology, not just a balmy place to live.
Concerns about the Cuban government drilling for oil 50 miles off the Florida Keys have reached an all-time high and several federal bills have been filed to block foreign companies from oil exploration off the Caribbean island.
Florida House Speaker Cannon: No plan to challenge 2nd remapping measure
House Speaker Dean Cannon says he has no plans to challenge the second of two new state constitutional amendments on redistricting – at least not yet.
The Florida Democratic Party today filed the following public records request demanding documents from Governor Rick Scott regarding his efforts to obstruct the implementation of the Fair Districts constitutional amendments, which nearly 63% of Floridians voted for last fall. Check out this letter from the tenacious Eric Jotkoff:
Virginia governor appoints ex-Florida elections chief to head State Board of Elections
Republican Governor Bob McDonnell has consolidated his party’s grip on Virginia’s State Board of Elections with the appointment of the former chief of Florida’s election system and a former executive director of the state GOP.
Battle over Florida tax on cheap cigarettes heats up
Millions at stake and a Florida company finds friends in the Legislature.
A battle could once again be looming at the Capitol about a tax that would affect dozens of cigarette manufacturers but is aimed largely at a South Florida company that sells low-priced smokes across the state.
Blog: Representative Jim Frishe (very quietly) files to run for seat in the Florida Senate
It was one of the worst kept secrets in Tampa Bay politics: Representative Jim Frishe intended to run for the seat held by Senator Dennis Jones, who is term-limited from running again.
Obscure ex-Florida lawmaker Adam Hasner could be U.S. Senate race contender
Republicans are bracing for a tough 2012 U.S. Senate primary pitting such political heavyweights as a former U.S. senator, a sitting Florida Senate president and the congressman son of a Republican icon.
Scott freezes 4 contracts for SunRail
Governor Rick Scott late Friday froze four contracts worth $235 million for SunRail, Central Florida’s planned commuter train.
- SunRail contracts on hold as supporters await decision from Florida Governor Scott
- Blog: High-speed rail consortiums push for Tampa-Orlando link even as project’s fate unclear
Governor Scott Holds Firm on Arizona-Style Immigration Law
The Legislature’s point man on immigration retreated substantially from an Arizona-style proposal Thursday, raising the possibility that law enforcement officers could only check a person’s immigrant status if he or she is being investigated for criminal wrongdoing.
State legislators file bills to exempt full hotel tax for online companies
The battle over how much tax local governments receive when you book a hotel room online is heating up in another arena: the Florida Legislature.
Program aims to help struggling Florida homeowners
A program to help struggling Florida homeowners will begin accepting application in February.
South Florida lawmaker proposes selling naming rights for roads, statewide attractions
Florida should sell naming rights to everything from state roads to beaches to help cover its budget shortfall, according to state Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton.
Florida Bill lets leaders control salary
A proposed law would let counties’ elected officials reduce their own pay
A proposed state law touches on one of the hot-button issues of last year’s lengthy and often-contentious Charter Review Commission debates: the salaries of counties’ elected officials.
Severe cuts expected for Florida school districts unless shortfall is filled, officials say
You thought this school year was bad?
With the federal stimulus dollars set to run out in June, next year has the potential to be a lot worse, Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said.
State may close parks to keep budget in check
Some of this area’s more iconic natural places and historic sites, among them the 120-foot-deep limestone sinkhole at Devil’s Millhopper Geological State Park and the historic Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings home, could fall victim to state budget cuts.
Huge backlog of arrest warrants challenges South Florida police agencies
It’s a daunting and never-ending job – prowling South Florida streets for people who don’t want to be found.
Florida Governor Rick Scott’s plan to kill ‘jobs-killing’ anti-sprawl agency could prove tricky
Governor Rick Scott in his campaign blasted the state agency that is charged with preventing sprawl and protecting open spaces, accusing it of “killing jobs all over the state.”
Florida workers fear likely pension fees
State and local workers could see paychecks shrink because of new retirement fees.
Teachers, police and even legislators may start seeing — for the first time ever — a chunk of their paycheck going into their retirement accounts if Governor Rick Scott and legislators get their way.
Column: Among thousands of ideas before the Florida Legislature, here are three to watch
The start of the 2011 session of the Florida Legislature is little more than a month away, and the bill hopper is filling up fast.
Governor Rick Scott’s new Department of Children and Families boss: Right for job?
Governor Rick Scott promised voters he would run the state like a corporation.
Editorial: Enforce rules in managing state growth
Governor Rick Scott told a group of editors and reporters this month that Florida needs to manage growth, but his actions suggest he is headed in a different direction.
Editorial: Some Florida regulations are genuine job builders
Florida Governor Rick Scott’s message on regulations has been consistent: They are job-killers that needlessly raise the cost of doing business in Florida.
Race to protect Florida waters could hurt all the research still needed.
New clean-water standards affecting the St. Johns River in Jacksonville may be hard to finish on schedule without cutting corners on the science behind them, some members of a federal science panel are warning.
Insurance License Fees Tied to Credit Cards Rejected in Louisiana
Lawmakers rejected plans for the Louisiana Department of Insurance to allow credit card payments for licenses, because they objected to the sliding scale of fees tacked onto card payments.
Gone with the wind: Up to $643 million in improperly paid federal disaster assistance
Taxpayers are owed as much as $643 million for improper disaster assistance payments following Hurricane Katrina and other storms, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has not tried to recover the money for nearly four years.
Detroit property and casualty insurers object to stock transfer letter
A coalition of private property and casualty insurers has written the state’s insurance commissioner, taking issue with a letter he released this week that found legal a $125-million stock transfer in 2007 by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to the Accident Fund, its for-profit subsidiary.
Risk Management Solutions Rejects Hurricane Model Criticisms
California-based modelling firm Risk Management Solutions has rejected criticisms of its hurricane software – the industry standard among Bermuda reinsurers – made by consulting firm Karen Clark & Co.
Poll: Public Opposes Crash Taxes
Three out of four adults (76 percent) believe their taxes cover the time and services provided by emergency response providers following a traffic accident and additional accident response fees charged by local governments are not necessary.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an email to bellis@cftlaw.com.