Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, February 17
Feb 17, 2010
Note: Until the March 2, 2010 Florida legislative bill filing deadline, Capitol to Courthouse Headliners will provide a listing of insurance-related bills filed each day. This listing will be located at the end of the news headlines.
To view a complete story, click on an e-mail below:
Claims Audit Could Spark Legislative Battle
Impacts on the Bottom Lines at Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and Cat Fund
A state audit released in January could spark a fierce legislative battle this spring and raises additional concerns about the viability of both Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.
Blog: Gelber accuses AG McCollum of dragging his feet on faulty pipes
After more than four years, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum remains on the fence about whether to go after potentially millions of dollars from the manufacturers of faulty water and sewer pipes, a state senator who wants McCollum’s job charges.
Jacksonville-based Brown & Brown expects acquisitions to step up this year
The prolonged recession and prospects for a slow economic recovery could translate into a year of increased mergers and acquisitions at Brown & Brown Inc., company officials said Tuesday.
Disney World cleared of any safety violations in stunt worker’s death
Walt Disney World has been cleared of any workplace-safety violations stemming from an accident last summer in which a resort employee died after breaking his neck while rehearsing his part in a popular stunt show.
A first-of-its-kind report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute ranks the health of Florida’s 67 counties.
Nurses rally in Tallahassee for Florida patient protection bill
Florida nurses are calling for legislation to set minimum hospital staffing ratios and give them whistle-blower protection.
Medicaid revamp faces obstacles in Tallahassee
With Medicaid costs now consuming 26 percent of the state budget, the upcoming session seems primed for a program overhaul.
Court to decide public’s right to speak, be heard
A Tallahassee appellate court will soon weigh in on whether Florida’s Sunshine Law gives citizens the right to be participants, not merely spectators, in government meetings.
Former Florida House Speaker Sansom loses House rulings
State Rep. Ray Sansom’s attempt to have a fellow lawmaker removed from a panel investigating his ties to a state college has failed, and Sansom’s defense was handed two other setbacks late Tuesday.
Florida PSC ethics bill moves forward
A bill to raise ethical standards at the Public Service Commission sailed through the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, clearing the way for Senate floor debate as early as the first week of the 2010 session next month.
Florida Senate panel approves class size amendment
An effort to overhaul the state’s constitutional limit on class sizes passed its first legislative hurdle Tuesday , with a Senate panel approving the measure over the objections of a teachers’ union and the committee’s lone Democrat.
Florida CFO Sink: Government could save $277.5M by streamlining middle management
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said today state government could save hundreds of millions of dollars by widening its ratio of supervisors to regular employees.
Tampa Bay home builders reap more than $1 billion in government subsidies
Working through one of the steepest real estate downturns in decades, Tampa Bay home builders are reaping more than $1 billion in government subsidies.
EPA holding hearing on rules linking runoff with algae blooms in Florida waters
Environmentalists say a proposal that would set numeric limits on farm and urban runoff is needed to clean up Florida’s polluted water bodies and is long overdue. Business and agriculture interests say that compliance would be too costly and further set back Florida’s recession-battered economy.
5 South Florida men charged with insider trading
Five South Florida men have been charged with insider trading, including executives of a company that sells vehicle, aircraft and marine fuels.
SpaceX rocket launch: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch will be test of commercial space business
Elon Musk’s SpaceX will try to prove it’s viable in commercial space business as alternative to NASA
Sometime next month, if all goes well, a 154-foot-tall white rocket will rise from a launchpad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a crucial test of the ambitions of upstart space company SpaceX — and of President Barack Obama’s new policy for NASA.
Will that be paper, or plastic?
A much-anticipated report from state environmental regulators may spur Florida lawmakers to consider a ban on plastic retail bags.
Big Brokers Get Approval To Resume Contingent Charges
An agreement reached between the three major insurance brokerages and New York, Illinois and Connecticut officials opens the door for the firms to resume taking contingent commissions.
Texas challenging EPA’s greenhouse gas finding
Texas became the first state to challenge the federal government’s finding that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people, claiming Tuesday that the ruling is based on flawed science and would wreck the state’s economy.
Colorado bill would limit surveillance of injured workers
Legislation that would restrict video surveillance of employees who have filed a workers compensation claim by insurers and self-insured employers has been approved by a Colorado House committee.
South Carolina high court adopts migrant worker ‘bunkhouse rule’
A fractured ankle a migrant worker received while living in employer-provided housing arose in the course of employment and is compensable, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled.
New Texas Home Policy Available From Farmers Insurance Group
The Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. has introduced Farmers Next Generation Home Policy, a new homeowner’s insurance policy available in Texas. The policy allows customers to select a policy that they can tailor to fit their specific insurance needs.
National Flood Insurance Program Imperiled Yet Again
Once again, federal lawmakers have failed to come up with long-term changes to the National Flood Insurance Program, which is slated to expire on Feb. 28.
‘Boomerangers’ and Parents Face New Insurance Relaity
Insurance Needs Change as Economy Forces More Young Adults
to Move Back in with Parents
Layoffs and a dearth of new job openings continue to add to the high rate of unemployment, leaving an increasing number of new college grads and young adults unable to make ends meet.
Evolution of the Environmental Risk Market
The current configuration of environmental insurance owes much of its structure to a series of legal calls that occurred 25 years ago.
2010 Florida insurance-related bills filed on Wednesday, February 17:
SB 2136 Relating to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund by State Senator Garrett Richter
Expresses the legislative intent to revise laws relating to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2134 Relating to Insurance by Senator Richter
Expresses the legislative intent to revise laws relating to insurance. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2126 Relating to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program by State Senator Joe Negron
(Identical H 1009, Compare H 0675, S 1406)
Would make the operation of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program contingent upon available funds. Would revise tax credit grant provisions and specify a tax credit cap that would increase under certain circumstances. Provides for a carry-forward of unused amounts of tax credits, as well as a credit against the oil and gas production tax for certain program contributions. Effective Date: July 1, 2010 except as otherwise provided.
SB 2114 Relating to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund by Senator Richter
Expresses the legislative intent to revise laws relating to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2112 Relating to Insurance by Senator Richter
Expresses the legislative intent to revise laws relating to insurance. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2110 Relating to Insurance by Senator Richter
Expresses the legislative intent to revise laws relating to insurance. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2108 Relating to Insurance by Senator Richter
Expresses the legislative intent to revise laws relating to insurance. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2106 Relating to Municipal Police Pension Plans by State Senator Jeremy Ring
Would allow premium tax revenues to be used to repay an advance from a municipality used to purchase an annuity to fund the accrued liabilities of Municipal Police Pension Plans. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
SB 2104 Relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by Mike Bennett (Identical H 1081)
Would require that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”) achieve actuarially sound rates on, or before a specified date. Would require Citizens to take certain actions to achieve actuarially sound rates or file a plan of withdrawal on, or before a specified date if it does not achieve said rates by a specified deadline. The bill would prohibit the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation from having authority with respect to Citizens rates. Effective Date: July 1, 2010
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