Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Dinallo Returns to Debevoise & Plimpton as Chair of Insurance Regulatory Practice
Mar 10 2020 // Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has announced that Eric Dinallo has returned to chair its Insurance Regulatory Practice and join its Financial Institutions and White Collar & Regulatory Defense Groups. Dinallo will focus...
Louisiana Republicans, Business Aligned on Auto Insurance, Tort Reform
Mar 10 2020 // Business groups see an opportunity with the new, more conservative Republican-led Louisiana Legislature to gain traction on a top goal, to rein in civil lawsuits and damage awards against them. GOP lawmakers have made the...
Judge Sides With Transgender Alaska Librarian in Employee Benefits Case
Mar 9 2020 // An Alaska healthcare plan that has excluded coverage of gender-confirming surgery for transgender employees is discriminatory, a federal judge ruled. The decision came in a 2018 case filed against the state by Jennifer...
Acadia Insurance Hires Former New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner Elias
Mar 9 2020 // Acadia Insurance, a regional underwriter based in Westbrook, Maine, has hired former New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner John Elias to its management team as senior vice president and chief underwriting officer. He will...
Hold the Phone: Massachusetts’ Hands-Free Driving Law Takes Effect
Mar 9 2020 // Massachusetts’ new hands-free driving law went into effect February 23rd. The law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker in November, is intended to reduce the number of distracted driving injuries and deaths in the...
Declarations
Mar 9 2020 // Not High Time “This bill is not about getting high. This bill is about getting well.” — Dr. Alan Shackelford, a Colorado doctor who described the success of using medical marijuana on people with seizures...
Why Banning Rating Factors Could Hurt Auto Even More
Mar 9 2020 // Auto insurance affordability is an important issue for consumers and the industry. Insurers take a wide variety of actions to make auto insurance as affordable as possible for consumers because they recognize that its cost...
California FAIR Plan Can Offer Only Fire Insurance, Judge Says
Mar 9 2020 // A fund that offers only fire insurance to California residents in wildfire-prone areas can’t be required to provide coverage for other hazards such as flooding or theft, a judge ruled in late February. Superior Court...
Arizona Court Rules Workers’ Comp OK for Cops’ High-Stress Situations
Mar 9 2020 // An Arizona court ruling stemming from a sheriff’s deputy’s encounter with a shotgun-wielding man says law enforcement officers can claim workers’ compensation benefits if diagnosed with PTSD or other...
Trump Signs $8.3B Bill to Fight Coronavirus
Mar 6 2020 // President Donald Trump signed a $7.8 billion emergency coronavirus spending bill on Friday after the number of infections continued to rise and stocks tumbled. The amount of money provided in the legislation far exceeds...
South Dakota Legislation Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving Sent to Governor
Mar 5 2020 // A bill passed by the South Dakota Legislature bans the use of smartphones and other electronic communication devices while driving, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) reported. The APCIA supports...
New York Bill Requiring Backseat Buckle Up Passes Legislature
Mar 5 2020 // New York senators moved to strengthen the state’s seat belt laws Tuesday and approved a bill that requires backseat adult passengers to buckle up. The legislation, passed by the state Senate and Assembly, now moves...
FDA Bans Electrical Shock Medical Device in Rare Regulatory Action
Mar 5 2020 // The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday banned electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) used in curbing self-injurious or aggressive behavior, citing substantial risks of illness or injury to patients. The...
Delaware Judge Holds Hearing in Lawsuit Over Hidden Bathroom Camera
Mar 4 2020 // A Delaware judge is holding a hearing in a lawsuit over the secret filming of women and girls in a restaurant bathroom. Tuesday’s hearing involves a lawsuit filed in 2018 by the mother of two young girls. The...
Popular Climate Change Mitigation, Clean Energy Financing Plan Has Its Fans and Foes
Mar 4 2020 // A decade ago, if a Floridian wanted extra cash to replace a roof, install solar panels or a brand new air conditioner, the most common choice was a bank loan. But for the last few years, homeowners also have had a...
Nebraska to Feds: Make Flood Control on Missouri River a Priority
Mar 3 2020 // Nebraska lawmakers have sent a nearly unanimous message to federal officials who control the flow of the Missouri River: focus on preventing floods above all else. Lawmakers voted 43-1 on a resolution calling on Congress...
Mom Asks South Carolina Lawmakers To Require Balcony Inspections After Son’s Death
Mar 2 2020 // Jennifer Mykytyn has been fighting to honor her son for five years and finally got a hearing to ask South Carolina lawmakers to require inspections for balconies so no one else would die the way her son was...
Supreme Court Ruling on Fate of Obamacare Likely After November Election
Mar 2 2020 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a politically explosive case on whether Obamacare is lawful, taking up a bid by 20 Democratic-led states including New York and California to save the landmark healthcare...
Hazard Mitigation Legislation Moves Forward in Oklahoma House
Mar 2 2020 // Legislation that would create the Oklahoma Hazard Mitigation Assessment District Act has passed out of committee and moved to the full House for consideration. The House County and Municipal Government Committee passed...
Missouri Senate Backs New Limits on Punitive Damages
Feb 28 2020 // Missouri’s Republican-led Senate swiftly advanced a bill tightening standards for punitive damages in liability lawsuits after an all-night filibuster by Democrats successfully blocked a separate bill limiting...
