Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, July 30
Jul 30, 2008
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State to pay $224 million to prop up storm fund
Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink signed off Tuesday on an agreement to pay $224 million to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. to help prop up a state insurance fund if a major hurricane hits.
Fla. paying Berkshire $224 million so it can borrow billions if needed for hurricane insurance      Â
Florida will pay $224 million to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for a guarantee that the state can borrow up to $4 billion if necessary to help cover future losses by its emergency hurricane insurance fund.
Senate Banking Committee Urged to Back Federal Insurance Regulation
The U.S. regulatory structure for the insurance industry puts companies at a disadvantage overseas and stifles innovation and competition for consumers, the industry told U.S. lawmakers Tuesday.
Florida banking regulator holds onto his job
Fighting to salvage his job and reputation, Florida’s top banking regulator criticized the media Tuesday for a “rush to judgment” over reports that his agency issued mortgage broker licenses to felons.
Crist sets deadline for mortgage broker cleanup
Florida’s Cabinet announced an investigation into the state agency that licenses mortgage brokers — but stopped short of firing its leader.
Declaring his confidence in Florida’s mortgage-broker system ”shaken,” Gov. Charlie Crist gave the state’s top loan regulator two weeks to come up with a plan to toughen licensing standards for mortgage brokers.
Florida Cabinet Approves Statewide Emergency Shelter Plan
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist approved the Florida Cabinet’s 2008 statewide emergency shelter plan. Since 1999, state, federal and local agencies have created 994,369 shelter spaces, approximately 70 percent of the state’s shelter demand.
Williams returning to lead Fla. investment board
Ash Williams is returning to lead the agency overseeing the investment of about $160 billion in Florida’s assets, including the state pension fund, after spending the past 12 years in the private sector. The State Board of Administration on Tuesday agreed to hire Williams for $325,000 annually plus possible incentive compensation of up to 8 percent of his salary to replace interim executive director Bob Milligan, a former state comptroller.
Local lawmaker chides McCain over catastrophe bill comments
Sen. John McCain is uninformed about a national catastrophe bill pending in Congress and is out of touch with Florida voters about the need for such a program, a Palm Beach County Democratic official said Tuesday.
EDITORIAL:Â McCain’s Opposition To CAT Fund Could Cost Him Votes In Florida
Florida has voted Republican six out of the past seven presidential elections, but unless John McCain begins paying more attention to the state’s most important issues, he can’t assume it will turn red for him in November.
Federal disaster fund advancing, congressmen say
Two area Democratic congressmen said Monday that they are making progress in persuading their counterparts in the U.S. Senate to support a federal disaster fund that would cap insurance company losses after a catastrophic event.
Farm Bureau moves closer to farmers
Wendy Raulerson was emptying boxes and awaiting the first customer at the Florida Farm Bureau’s new office on Tara Boulevard in East Manatee.
EDITORIAL:Â State Farm’s rate hike request for homeowners seems unreasonable
If you’re a homeowner suffering the rate hikes handed down by your insurer, circle Aug. 12 on your calendar.
Too easy for Florida felons to regain civil rights says Attorney General McCollum
Attorney General Bill McCollum says the disclosure that the state has licensed some convicted felons as mortgage brokers proves Florida has made it too easy for people with criminal records to get their civil rights restored.
With Bob Butterworth’s departure, Florida’s governor again must fill one of the toughest jobs in government: DCF secretary.
Bob Butterworth, the iconic Broward County politician who parlayed four terms as the state’s top prosecutor into an appointment as Florida’s top social worker, resigned Tuesday as secretary of the Department of Children & Families after overseeing one of the least contentious periods in the agency’s history.
Dozens of trucks, trailers with heavy machinery, cars and vans loaded with equipment headed out Tuesday from Patrick Air Force Base to rehearse a scenario of a hurricane requiring a massive evacuation. Dubbed Ocean Breeze 08, the caravan headed to the Air Force’s Malabar Transmitter Annex, in a simulation of a hurricane predicted to make landfall on the Space Coast within 24 hours. ‘We prepare and we practice,’ said Senior Master Sgt. Jeffery Jones, hurricane recovery superintendent, who is operations superintendent for the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron.
EDITORIAL:Â Prescription for reform
Candidates for Legislature must have firm ideas on bringing health care to all
Space Coast residents know how hard it is to pay for health care today. Workers struggle as insurance premiums and co-pays and deductibles for medical care rise.
EDITORIAL:Â KidCare provides affordable health coverage for state’s kids
In these days of economic uncertainty, many families are faced with tough choices when it comes to providing for their children’s basic healthcare needs. Unaware of all the resources available to them, many parents do not believe they can afford health insurance coverage for their children.
Miami woman arrested on Medicaid fraud
A Miami woman was arrested and charged with defrauding the state’s Medicaid program out of more than $447,000.
Pharmed scam began in 1980s, documents claim
The brothers who own Pharmed were accused of improperly receiving money from Kendall Regional Medical Center workers for longer than originally thought.
Pharmed, once one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in America, was cheating a local hospital since the 1980s, according to documents filed in federal court.
Hurting from high medical costs, patients seek alternatives to local hospitals and doctors
Consumers increasingly are trying alternatives to their local hospitals and doctors, from going abroad for less-costly surgery to seeking quick, basic care at new clinics in drugstores and discounters, experts say.
With DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth’s resignation Tuesday, the agency will be getting its sixth chief within a decade. Each has had to weather controversies at the head of an often troubled bureaucracy. Here’s a list of the most recent DCF secretaries and their tenures:
COLUMN: DCF learns some lessons in employee records check
The Department of Children and Families has completed a personnel review that was, it’s safe to say, the biggest paper chase in Florida history.
EDITORIAL:Â The Butterworth effect
His leadership guided a troubled agency through a time of turmoil
Bob Butterworth steps away after telling Judge Robert J. Morris Jr. in January 2007 that the Department of Children and Families would no longer fight efforts to obtain treatment for mentally ill inmates awaiting trial. Butterworth resigned from DCF on Tuesday.
Four are charged in $82.8 million scheme
Neil Mohamed Husani — one of Southwest Florida’s most notorious real estate investors — has been indicted by a federal grand jury along with two former partners and his attorney in an $82.8 million scheme to defraud seven banks on the west coast of Florida.
Rubio pushes for an end to Seminoles’ blackjack
House Speaker Marco Rubio wants the Florida Supreme Court to reject the Seminole Tribe’s bid for a new hearing, saying it’s time to start figuring out how to stop blackjack on reservation land. The court on July 3 voided a contract between Gov. Charlie Crist and the tribe allowing blackjack at the tribe’s seven casinos, ruling Crist acted without authority.
GOVERNOR CRIST:Â Trade Mission Strengthens State
Every great business deal begins with a good relationship. As potential business partners discover each other’s strong suits and assets, they begin to consider new possibilities for mutually beneficial ventures. In the same way, during the 10 days I traveled to Europe, I built relationships with some of Florida’s most important international trade partners.
Under pressure, Wexler changes address
Battered by media reports about living in Maryland, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler announced Tuesday he will lease a home in his Palm Beach County congressional district.
State GOP chairman endorses Curtis for Kendrick’s House seat
Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer, in a move Democrats say is a sign of desperation, endorsed House District 10 candidate Don Curtis weeks before the Aug. 26 Republican primary.
Rep. Diaz-Balart isn’t a shoo-in, report says
A new analysis of congressional races puts U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart — the last Republican with any territory in Broward — in possible jeopardy in November’s election.
State House 112 seat has two Democratic challengersÂ
Two Democratic candidates, Juan Espinosa and Beatriz “Betty” Gaffney, are competing on Aug. 26 for the chance to battle Republican incumbent David Rivera for the state House District 112 seat.
Florida’s House District 78 race pits three Democrats against each other
Three Democrats a chiropractor, an insurance agent and a former newspaper writer are battling for a state House seat in which none of the candidates has deep roots within the district’s boundaries.
Judge lets candidate for state House District 17 on ballot
After a brief court battle, Democratic state House District 17 candidate Regina Young is on the ballot after all.
Because of a public notary’s minor paperwork error, the secretary of state’s elections division originally refused to certify Young as a candidate.
Mike Williams, a Republican businessman from Madison who is running for House District 10, is fighting back.
District 8 Dems bash ‘tax swap’
A half-dozen Democrats seeking to succeed state Rep. Curtis Richardson expressed solid opposition Tuesday to the ‘tax-swap’ constitutional amendment. They also said state employees have been overworked and under-appreciated, and pledged to work across party lines in the Republican-run House to improve salaries, pensions and insurance benefits. All six also agreed that the Board of Governors, not the Legislature, should have authority over tuition and creation of new schools or academic fields of study at Florida’s 11 state universities.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has turned a “blind eye” to Florida’s Everglades cleanup efforts, while the state is violating its own commitment to restore the vast ecosystem, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
State shuts down FPL’s renewable energy program
State regulators on Tuesday shut down a Florida Power & Light Co. green energy program after an audit revealed most of the money collected from customers was used to pay for administrative and marketing costs.
Judge issues split decision for guns at work
Employees can keep them locked in cars, but customers must be unarmed
A federal judge’s ruling in a legal showdown over Florida’s new guns-at-work law had both sides claiming victory Tuesday.
Job recruiting will start within weeks for a Massachusetts research and development firm that will build labs in Tampa and St. Petersburg to manufacture tiny biomedical machines.
Senate Asks 9 Insurers to Furnish Information
The Senate is investigating whether insurance companies are forcing able-bodied people to apply for Social Security disability benefits, worsening a severe backlog in the government program while increasing their own profits.
U.S. Could Okay 2 Big Insurance Bills In ’08, Says Dodd
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Senate Banking Committee chairman, said Congress might manage to push through legislation this year to reform regulation of surplus insurance lines and create an Office of Insurance Information.
Goldman Touts Regulatory Success; ‘Vibrant, Competitive’ Insurance Market
N.J. Regulator Testifies Before U.S. Senate Banking Committee
New Jersey Banking and Insurance Commissioner Steven M. Goldman, testified today on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) regarding the strength and effectiveness of the state-based system of insurance regulation.
Insurance Regulation Hearing Leaves Much Unresolved
At the end of the Senate Banking Committee hearing on insurance regulation Tuesday one thing is perfectly clear, no one is quite sure what to make of it.
Kanjorski Beats The Drum For His Insurance Regulation Bill
The author of legislation creating an Office of Insurance Information within the Treasury Department is urging colleagues to pass the bill when it comes to the House floor this week, saying it is needed to give the federal government “a credible source of information and expertise on insurance matters.â€
GAO Scores Flood Program Poor Info
The agency that manages the National Flood Insurance Program must do a better job of providing information concerning properties that are the basis for repeated damage claims over the years, a federal report says.
Insurer offers discounts to drivers with monitors
A high-tech monitoring device makes it possible to reduce insurance premiums for drivers who avoid jackrabbit starts and slam-on-the-brakes stops, an insurance company says.
TEXAS:Â Appeals court lifts State Farm’s prior approval order
A state appeals court has overruled a 2-year-old order by state regulators that required the state’s largest home insurer to obtain prior approval before implementing rates.
Missouri Court Upholds $16 Million Bad Faith Award Against Allstate
Allstate Insurance Co. has lost its appeal of a $16 million judgment against it for not settling a claim for the $50,000 limit on an auto insurance policy.
Convicted Mississippi Lawyer Scruggs wants Testimony Sealed
Convicted Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs and his son want to prevent their sworn testimony in a Hurricane Katrina lawsuit from becoming public and “undermining the presumption of innocence” if they face criminal charges in the future.
New York Governor Signs Late-Notice Reform Bill
New York Gov. David A. Paterson has signed into law legislation that makes it more difficult for insurers to deny claims based on “late notice” provisions.
Consumer Groups Press NAIC To Make Conduct Info Public
Consumer advocates speaking to state insurance regulators today urged them to make transparency of data part of a controversial program to analyze insurers’ market conduct.