Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, March 27

 

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Report: Citizens to issue bonds

Florida’s state-run property insurer may be taking steps to insure that it has funding to pay claims immediately after a hurricane.

New bill could expand state’s power over insurers

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would make sweeping property insurance changes in Florida.

Florida Senate Passes Bill to Reduce Insurers’ Catastrophe Coverage Limits

Legislation passed by the Florida Senate this week would reduce the amount of state-funded reinsurance that insurers can purchase under the temporary increase in coverage limit (TICL) program.

On storms, our heads are still in the sand

Sorry to bring up a sore subject, but we haven’t fixed this hurricane insurance thing yet.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Names Director of Market Investigations

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty promoted Jim Bennett to director of market investigations for the Office of Insurance Regulation. Bennett will report to General Counsel Steve Parton.

Florida’s deadly insurance void

An average of six working-age people a day die in Florida because they lack health insurance coverage, according to a study released Wednesday.

Florida Senate plan would cut programs for medically needy

Health programs serving Florida’s poor, elderly and critically ill face a staggering $803 million in cuts under a Senate plan aimed at helping to close a $3billion state budget shortfall.

Martinez endorses Posey for Congress

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez endorsed state Sen. Bill Posey for Congress on Wednesday, calling him “a guy who gets it done” for the Space Coast.

Florida tax reform commission thrusts state-church issues onto voters in November

Tax dollars could be funneled to Florida religious schools and a controversial private school voucher program be revived under a proposal the state’s powerful tax reform commission is sending to the November ballot.

Vote on tax-cap proposal postponed for week

The sponsor of a plan to put a strict cap on all governments’ tax revenues into the state Constitution struggled to keep the issue alive Wednesday and postponed a vote on whether to put it on the November ballot.

EDITORIAL: Finally, Tax Reform Surfaces Worth Voting For In November

The tax cuts voters approved in January will save a typical homeowner only about $240 a year.

Guns-to-work bill wins House passage

Gun rights advocates and the National Rifle Association won a victory Wednesday with the Florida House’s passage of a contentious bill that would allow employees to bring their guns to work.

Marina tax break amendment headed to ballot

Marina owners and other waterfront businesses would receive a property tax break under a constitutional amendment approved this morning by a powerful state tax panel.

EDITORIAL: Look to Cigarettes For Budget

Increasing Florida’s outdated tax on cigarettes would have been wise a few years ago when the economy was soaring.

Reinsurers, Consumers Fight Flood Program Windstorm Bill

In a case of politics making strange bedfellows, J. Robert Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America and the Reinsurance Association of America have joined to oppose legislation expanding the National Flood Insurance Program.

Lakeland Appeals to State on CSX

City officials ask transportation agency chief to help reroute CSX trains.

Lakeland officials ramped up their attempts to reroute freight trains around the city Wednesday by asking the Florida Department of Transportation for help.

State accuses Broward firms of mortgage fraud

The plan is simple: Find someone facing foreclosure, take advantage of their trust, then take their homes.

Three Broward county companies and their owners are being sued by the Florida attorney general for allegedly defrauding hundreds of thousands of dollars in home equity from more than 30 families facing foreclosure.

Insurers Pour Money Into Dem Campaigns

The insurance industry’s largest political contributions to the presidential race are going to Democratic candidates, with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton the biggest recipient.

NAIC’s Climate Change Disclosure Proposal is ‘Colossal Disappointment,’ NAMIC Says

A proposal ostensibly designed to ensure that insurers are adequately addressing issues of climate change serves no purpose other than to appeal to special interest groups, according to the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC).

Louisiana Workers’ Comp Corp Declares $45M Dividend

Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation, the state-created private workers’ compensation insurer of last resort, said more than 20,000 policyholders will share in a $45.5 million dividend next month.

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