Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, December 2
Dec 2, 2009
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California’s insurance commissioner said Tuesday he will push insurance companies doing business in California to divest up to $12 billion in indirect investments in Iran’s defense, nuclear, energy and banking industries.
CFO Storm Line Activated Today
Florida CFO Alex Sink announced today that she is activating her Department of Financial Services’ Storm Line, 1-800-22-STORM, to assist Floridians if their homes, businesses or vehicles are damaged by the severe weather front passing through the Panhandle of Florida today.
- Coastal flood watch issued for Manatee
- Voluntary evacuation suggested for Alligator Point; schools in Franklin to close
New, smaller companies pose new risks
Before hurricanes started blowing through Florida in 2004, a few big names dominated the state’s property insurance market.
Beach replenishment trampled our rights, property owners claim
When storms ravage the coast and wash away the beach, Florida’s multimillion-dollar response is often to replace the sand and rebuild the beach.
Editorial: Deluge or not, flood insurance in Florida a sound investment
Investing now in flood insurance makes sense
As Realtors like to say, It’s all about location, location, location. In South Florida, sandwiched between the soggy Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean, location is the geography of low lands.
Senate Bill Introduced to Increase Mitigation Allowance
U.S. Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) recently introduced legislation to amend the Energy Conservation and Production Act to provide additional home weatherization assistance for low-income homeowners as a way to improve catastrophe risk mitigation.
Tampa home restoration exec Brian Marshall helped create ‘fantasyland of fraud,’ SEC says
The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Tampa home restoration executive Brian M. Marshall of helping create a ‘fantasyland of fraud’ to push his company’s stock after Hurricane Katrina.
Fla. Medicaid lawsuit heads to trial
The state has spent about $2 million defending a class-action lawsuit that claims Florida is violating federal Medicaid requirements by providing inadequate medical and dental care to more than a million children.
Registered nurse practitioners push for prescription power
Every year for the past 16 years, the Florida Nurses Association has lobbied unsuccessfully to allow its most highly trained colleagues the right to prescribe painkillers and other controlled substances.
CFO Sink to Present Pension Oversight reforms to Investment Advisory Council
Florida CFO Alex Sink will present her three proposals to improve the oversight of the state’s pension fund and protect Floridians’ retirement security at a meeting of the Investment Advisory Council tomorrow morning.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Supreme Court Backs Crist’s Corruption Grand Jury
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday approved Gov. Charlie Crist’s request for a statewide grand jury aimed at rooting out public corruption following a string of high-profile arrests.
Column: Florida Ethics Commission could get serious about violations
On the same week that Gov. Charlie Crist gets rebuffed in his bid to create a statewide grand jury to probe corruption, the state’s ethics commission may do something that Crist hasn’t done so far: Ask the Florida Legislature for increased investigative power, steeper fines and a different standard to prove that someone has broken the state’s ethics laws.
Lawmakers gear up for special session
With a deal in hand and the votes seemingly in his pocket, Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he was confident that a special session on rail issues would go smoothly later this week.
- THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Special Session Hampers Incumbent Fundraising
- Special Session Clashes With Major Conference
Look at what lawmakers are up to now
The rail ruckus is making all the headlines right now in Tallahassee. But below the radar, your state reps have been busy filing a slew of bills for the spring session about everything from gay adoption and term limits to both the designs and the costs of getting new license plates.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigating Florida House candidate Samarrai
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is apparently conducting an investigation into Alachua County Republican Remzey Samarrai’s campaign for the Florida House District 22 seat currently held by House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala.
Eleven candidates running for Meek’s Florida congressional seat
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek’s campaign for the Senate has unleashed a torrent of candidates vying for his Miami-Dade congressional seat in 2010.
Pam Bondi enters Florida state attorney general race
Shaking up an already unpredictable statewide campaign for Florida attorney general, Hillsborough prosecutor Pam Bondi jumped in the race Tuesday, touting her legal experience and status as a Tallahassee outsider.
Argenziano takes helm of Public Service Commission
Despite outside efforts to derail her appointment as the next Public Service Commission chairwoman, Nancy Argenziano won unanimous approval Tuesday to lead the utility authority for a two-year appointment beginning in January.
Lawmakers to push to dissolve city of Weeki Wachee
The city of mermaids may soon be no more.
Fla. Lawyer Charged With $1 Bil. Investment Fraud
A once high-flying lawyer who courted politicians and celebrities was arrested Tuesday on federal racketeering and fraud charges alleging he operated a $1 billion investment scheme involving phony legal settlements.
New round of criticism hits Texas windstorm insurer
Newly uncovered internal e-mails from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association underscore an emerging pattern of arrogance and intentional bad faith claims practices, consumer advocates say.
Insurance companies dropping wind coverage for 14,000 homes in Alabama’s coastal counties
Allstate Corp. and Alfa Mutual plan to drop wind coverage on an estimated 14,000 homeowner policies in Alabama’s two coastal counties over the next 18 months, the latest blow to property owners seeking insurance in an area vulnerable to hurricanes.
New Jersey City Considers Billing Insurers for Fire Calls
One New Jersey city is considering billing insurance companies for fire department services.
Swiss Re Says Insurers Must Not Be Regulated Like Banks
Insurance companies shouldn’t be subjected to the same level of stricter regulations being imposed on banks after the financial crisis, Swiss Reinsurance Co chief economist Thomas Hess said Tuesday.
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