Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, October 13
Oct 13, 2009
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
Homeowners Choice offers $42.5 million for 21st Century Holdings in Fla.-based deal
Homeowners Choice Inc. wants to buy 21st Century Holding Co. in a stock and cash deal valued at $42.5 million. The combination would create a “premier Florida-based insurance company.”
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today announced that he has issued an Order to National Home Protection Inc. (National Home) to cease and desist transacting the unauthorized marketing and selling of home service warranty products.
Florida’s Hurricane price-gouging law questioned
One of the world’s largest oil companies says state price gouging laws are so broad that it could be in violation virtually any moment a state of emergency is declared.
Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Mary Beth Senkewicz to testify before the U.S. Senate
Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Mary Beth Senkewicz will testify before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia at a hearing to examine the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program.
Hurricane safety severs tree line along Hillsboro Canal for Boca Raton residents
Chain saw-wielding workmen, often without warning, this summer erased tree-lined backyard views cherished by residents living along the canal that divides Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Fire Marshall: no evidence Chinese drywall causes fires in Southwest Florida
As we first told you on Friday, Citizens Insurance is dropping a Punta Gorda couple’s homeowners coverage because their house has Chinese drywall.
Editorial: Florida motorists shouldn’t be taxed for each mile they drive
Talk about a regressive tax — especially when it comes to privacy and environmental issues.
Suit over law that favors builders
The new state law that critics blasted as a massive assault on Florida’s growth regulations has been blocked by the agency that is supposed to enforce it, and attacked in court by a growing number of cities and counties that want it struck down.
Inquiry into Fla. PSC finds no criminal wrongdoing
Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs said Monday that a joint investigation between his office and state police into the state’s public utilities regulator has not turned up any criminal wrongdoing.
- Editorial: The regulators and the regulated
- The dark side: Florida PSC cuts FP&L’s power to raise rates, but commissioners likely headed for utility jobs
McCollum seeking to ‘bust the myth’ that new technologies skirt Sunshine Law
Attorney General Bill McCollum on Wednesday will convene the first of three sessions designed to teach public officials that when they use instant messaging and social networking to discuss public business, it’s still a public record.
Bills seek vote for Florida Senate vacancies
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’s early departure left Gov. Charlie Crist with a tricky decision in August: whom to appoint as an interim replacement.
Legislative leaders said Monday that strengthening Florida’s background screening system for caregivers of children and seniors will be a top priority in the coming months.
Southerland mulling run at Boyd’s Fla. congressional seat
Steve Southerland of Southerland Funeral Homes and the Bay Patriots confirmed Monday he is considering running for U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd’s seat.
Crist Lays Out His Conservative Credits
Gov. Charlie Crist sent a message to his nearest Republican primary opponent for the U.S. Senate during a Lakeland appearance Monday: Don’t try to out conservative him.
Column: Redistricting Part of Bizarre Florida
“When you have a county split up like we are across three Senate seats, you literally have people on one side of a street who can vote and neighbors across the street who can’t. It’s confusing for voters and for elections officials.”
Makeover for Florida Keys hits a wall — for now
Luxury developers with grand plans swarmed the Florida Keys during the real estate boom, paying big bucks to gobble up campgrounds, trailer parks, marinas, mom-and-pop motels — even renowned Holiday Isle and its World Famous Tiki Bar.
Blog: Allan Bense to co-sign state GOP checks
The Republican Party of Florida officially announced today its “Victory 2010” campaign led by finance chairman Allan Bense, the former House Speaker, “to create a unified financial and political strategy solely focused on benefiting Republian candidates.”
Florida takes gradual approach to spending $15.4 billion in stimulus money
Don Winstead wields the wonkish title of Special Advisor to the Governor for the Implementation of the Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It’s easier to think of him as Florida’s stimulus czar.
Column: Florida a leader in putting kids in jail for life
The latest measure of Florida’s medieval mind set comes in at 77.
Juxtapose that number against the 109 juveniles in all of the United States who have been consigned to prison until death for crimes not involving murder or attempted murder.
Louisiana Citizens Board Member ‘Outraged’ by Cost of State Audit
The board of Louisiana’s “last resort” homeowners insurance company wants to quiz the legislative auditor over a $480,000 price tag for a review of the firm’s 2008 finances.
California court overturns duty-to-defend ruling
A trial court erred in staying a declaration that a liability insurer no longer needed to defend its insured when its policy limits had been exhausted, a California appellate court has ruled.
California Governor Vetoes Auto Insurance Program
A state-backed low-cost automobile insurance for Californians is threatened following Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s veto of a bill that would have extended the program until 2016.
Guy Carpenter Report Finds Cat Bond Market Poised for Strong Fourth Quarter
Two Upsized Transactions Closed in Third Quarter of 2009; Fundamentals of ILS Market Point Toward Increased Activity Through End of Year
The catastrophe bond market is poised for an active fourth quarter in 2009, according to a new report issued today by Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, and GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities Corp.
Researchers determining the costs of climate change
Scripps, insurer team up to assess financial risks
In an effort to pin down the costs of global climate change, one of the world’s largest insurers announced yesterday that its research network is joining with San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography to study the effect of changes in the weather and sea level.
P/C insurers can expect income to rise in third quarter, analysts say
The property/casualty insurance industry can expect its net income in the third quarter to increase after low hurricane activity in the summer, according to analysts.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to ccochran@cftlaw.com.