Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, June 5

 

To view a complete story, click on a headline below:

 

Walter Dartland and Brad Ashwell: Keep killing the Citizens Insurance fund transfer

On May 28, Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed a provision quietly slipped into the Homeowners Bill of Rights Act (CS/CS/SB 2860 and 1196) that could have left Floridians on the hook for an additional $250 million in insurance losses.

Florida Court Decides Asbestos Act Can’t Be Retroactively Applied

When Florida lawmakers passed asbestos legislation in 2005, they muddied the waters for plaintiffs afflicted with asbestosis who were in the throes of litigation.

On home inspections, why is state so slow?

Q. On Feb. 27, I applied for the free windstorm inspection from My Safe Florida Home, hoping to get approval from the state for the $5,000 matching grant to replace the windows in my house before hurricane season.

EDITORIAL: House FEMA elsewhere

It’s never easy to get a straight answer from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, even at its highest levels.

State owed $160K to local businessman

Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink personally delivered a check for $159,403.19 to Gainesville homebuilder G.W. Robinson on Tuesday to raise awareness about unclaimed property.

OP-ED: A better solution than cameras

In response to the recent letters to the editor, I want to present my views on red light cameras to ensure they are accurately interpreted.

Posey says he’ll leave state Senate

State Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, said today that he would resign his legislative seat effective Election Day, Nov. 4.

Altman interested in Posey’s Senate seat

Bill Posey’s early resignation from the Florida Senate to run for Congress could shake up November’s legislative elections.

Kosmas, Feeney spar over NASA funding

Thousands of workers at Kennedy Space Center are expected to lose their jobs when NASA retires the space shuttle in 2010, a local economic disaster that Democrat Suzanne Kosmas puts at the feet of her rival, U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo.

EDITORIAL: Crist should veto last-minute mining measure

OUR POSITION: Secretive phosphate legislation further erodes relationship between coastal counties and the phosphate industry and should be vetoed by Gov. Crist.

State agrees to pay $850,000 to former Lauderdale Lakes foster child

The state Department of Children & Families has reached an $850,000 settlement with a man who said he was sexually abused as a child at a now-defunct foster home in Lauderdale Lakes.

Legislator’s St. Petersburg Home Burns, Dogs Hurt

A state lawmaker whose house burned down early Wednesday is returning with his wife and children from vacation in Virginia to assess the damage.

House Panel to Hear Federal Insurance Office Proposal June 10

A House subcommittee has scheduled a hearing next week into a proposal to create a federal insurance information agency in Washington, D.C.

Insurance Commissioners Aim to Alleviate Insurance Misperceptions

Single parents, domestic partners, grandparents raising children and members of the military have several misperceptions about the insurance products available to them, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Panel wants to talk to FEMA trailer makers about formaldehyde

A House investigatory panel has asked four Indiana trailer makers to testify next month about the elevated levels of formaldehyde in trailers purchased by the federal government as temporary homes for hurricane victims.

Jobless Benefits Extension at Risk: House Democrats Modify War Funding Bill

House Democrats are likely to drop a 13-week extension of unemployment insurance benefits from a major spending package that includes continued funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and that would create a new education benefit for military veterans returning from the battlefields.

U.S. Lawmakers Question Vehicle Roof Strength Rules

U.S. auto safety regulators Wednesday told lawmakers they need more time to develop a tougher standard for vehicle roofs to ensure that adding more weight and headroom would not cause more vehicles to roll over.

More Developing Nations to Consider Catastrophe Bond Issuance

Governments in emerging markets are increasingly looking at the potential to tap capital markets to help fund the cost of recovery when costly natural catastrophes strike, experts say.

Some small towns opt to buy terrorism insurance

Small rural and suburban communities some with few structures taller than a good-sized maple tree might be unlikely targets for terrorists, but many of them are protecting their police stations and water towers with terrorism insurance.

RMS Reviews Multi-Peril Risk Model for Securitization

Risk Management Solutions has performed a detailed review of the risk analysis processes for a multi-peril indemnity deal.

Rating Firms Seem Near Legal Deal on Reforms

Under fire for the high ratings they awarded to subprime mortgage securities, three large credit rating firms are close to announcing a broad deal with the New York attorney general to reform some of their core business practices, according to people briefed on the investigation.

Threats To Bermuda Market Cited By U.S. Consul General

Bermuda faces a number of threats to its supremacy as a global insurance center, including a potentially “catastrophic” challenge to its relative tax advantage, the U.S. consul general warned in a speech here.

Texas Appeals Panel Affirms Wind Pool’s Right to Day in Court

Comparing the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association to a platypus — a creature native to Australia that appears to be a cross between a duck and a beaver — a Texas appeals court said while it knows what Texas’ insurer of last resort for wind and hail insurance along the Texas coast looks like, it’s not always clear what it is – a private entity or a government agency.

N.Y. WC Trust CRM Surrenders License

A New York self-insured trust administrator covering workers’ compensation claims has agreed to surrender its license, underscoring the risk of collapse inherent in such plans, an association said.

Wyoming Court Rules Only Employee’s Income Should Be Used When Calculating Workers’ Comp Benefits

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the state Workers’ Compensation Division erred when it denied a worker benefits because it included his wife’s income in calculating the “household income” attributable to an employee under state statute.

California Appeals Court Upholds Cap on Workers’ Comp Treatments

A Court of Appeal in California has rejected a constitutional challenge to the number of visits a worker is entitled to for chiropractic, physical therapy or occupational therapy visits under the state’s workers’ compensation rules.

To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to ccochran@cftlaw.com