Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, November 20
Nov 20, 2008
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Treasury Enters into Agreement to Assist the Reserve Fund’s US Government Money Market Fund
The U.S. Treasury Department announced today that it agreed to assist with the liquidation of The Reserve Fund’s U.S. Government Fund, due to unique and extraordinary circumstances.
Local Insurance Agent: Sunshine State’s Climate Improving
Kevin Delaney sees fast-growing number of small insurance firms.
Ever since four hurricanes struck this state in the summer of 2004, Florida has been struggling to deal with the impact those devastating storms had on home insurance rates.
Medicaid growth may bust budget
The state’s slumping economy is causing a surge in demand for government health insurance programs for the poor, most notably the Medicaid program that insures 2.3 million Floridians.
Legislators sink hopes for local project funds
In a sign of the bad budget times, Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Ray Sansom announced Wednesday that legislators can forget about seeking money for local projects in 2009.
Panel to discuss borrowing from Fla. tobacco fund
The State Board of Administration will discuss a plan to borrow money from the state’s tobacco settlement trust fund to help Florida avoid an unconstitutional budget deficit.
Williams: Fla. investments will stay conservative
Ash Williams is back at his old job overseeing the investment of billions of state dollars, including Florida’s public employee pension plan, after a stint with a Wall Street hedge fund.
At retreat, Sansom paints gloomy picture for GOP
New House speaker hasn’t ruled out a special session to solve state budget shortfall
They don’t call it the dismal science for nothing.
At posh retreat, Florida GOP leaders wield budget ax
Washington has pork. Tallahassee has turkey. Or did.
The annual ritual of bringing money home for local projects is coming to an uncharitable halt just before the holidays. On Wednesday, legislative leaders declared that no local budget requests — ridiculed by some as “turkeys” — will be honored in the upcoming session.
Sansom newest NWF State College VP
Rep. Ray Sansom, was named Vice President of Planning and Development for Northwest Florida State College by the Board of Trustees Tuesday rounding out a big week for the Congressman who was sworn in as Florida’s 84th Speaker of the House one day earlier.
State Senate race recount numbers don’t jibe
In a case of déjà vu all over again, a state-mandated recount of a Nov. 4 race turned up a different number of ballots than were tallied in the Nov. 4 election.
Florida high court ends Escambia tax case
Supreme Court denies rehearing in battle over $135M bond issue
A Pensacola veterinarian’s legal fight against Escambia County’s taxation plan to widen a road has ended.
Farming firm announces hostile bid for U.S. Sugar Corp.
A Tennessee-based farming company Thursday announced a hostile bid to buy out U.S. Sugar Corp., potentially throwing an enormous wrench into the state’s plans to purchase the sugar giant’s farming empire to save the Everglades.
Some wind, solar energy viable in Florida
A new report highlighted the potential of some types of wind and solar-powered energy sources in the state of Florida but also dismissed the viability of others.
The first draft of a report commissioned by state regulators says one kind of solar power and off-shore wind have great potential as sources of renewable energy in Florida, but land-based wind and another kind of solar have almost no future in the state.
Health Insurers Offer to Accept All Applicants, on Condition
The health insurance industry said Wednesday that it would support a health care overhaul requiring insurers to accept all customers, regardless of illness or disability. But in return, the industry said, Congress should require all Americans to have coverage.
SEC Reviews Rule 151A Comments
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing more than 4,000 comments it received before a comment period closed Nov. 17 on its proposed rule to regulate indexed annuities, according to an SEC director.
Senate Probe to Look at Bond-Rating Firms
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is opening a probe into causes of the global financial crisis, focusing in part on whether bond-ratings firms, driven by conflicts of interest, boosted mortgage investments that have since collapsed.
Insurers Jump on TARP Despite Concerns
The latest moves by several insurers to try to qualify for relief under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, are attracting a lot of attention this week. But purchasing troubled savings and loan companies as a way to reinvent themselves into banks or thrift holding companies may prompt these insurers to lose their chance at a piece of the TARP.
State Auditor Disputes 2006 Rate Cuts for Louisiana Citizens
A state audit says the Louisiana Department of Insurance may have broken the law in 2006 by cutting rates for the state’s insurer of last resort to levels competitive with private insurance companies.
Dinallo To Insurers: Stop Unoccupied Home Cancellations
New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo announced he has issued an advisory to insurance companies notifying them that canceling a homeowners policy only on the basis that a dwelling is unoccupied is an illegal mid-term cancellation.
Ohio Director Says No to Federal Oversight, No to National Cat Plan
A public servant, attorney and community leader, Mary Jo Hudson officially took office as the 46th director of the Ohio Department of Insurance on Jan. 8, 2007. Just coming up on two years in office, Hudson speaks her mind on the pressing issues facing the industry. In an interview with Insurance Journal at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ meeting in September, she was adamant about the future stability of state insurance regulation over any federal oversight and said that AIG and its problem supported her position.
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