Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Nearly Doubles North Dakota Doctor’s $1.2M Award in Retaliation Suit
Nov 25 2019 // A North Dakota doctor who won a $1.2 million jury award against a Bismarck clinic in a retaliation case should collect more than $2.1 million after a federal judge settled post-trial disputes. Dr. Robert Roswick sued Mid...
Fox Countersuit in Harassment Case Not Retaliation, Judge Rules
Nov 25 2019 // Fox Broadcasting Co. didn’t illegally retaliate with a breach-of-contract claim against a former executive who sued after he was fired for alleged sexual harassment, a judge ruled. New York Supreme Court Justice...
Massachusetts Lawmakers Pass Ban on Flavored Vaping, Tobacco Products
Nov 25 2019 // Massachusetts lawmakers passed a groundbreaking ban Thursday on the sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, including menthol cigarettes. The bill would also place a 75% excise tax on vaping products and require...
Trump Regulatory Rollback Targets Safety Rules Prompted by Industrial Disasters
Nov 25 2019 // The Trump administration’s move to relax an Obama-era chemical safety regulation put in place after an explosion at a fertilizer plant is the latest example of the White House easing rules established in the wake of...
Oklahoma AG to Appeal Judge’s Opioid Ruling in J&J Case
Nov 25 2019 // Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter says he plans to appeal a judge’s order directing consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay the state $465 million to help address the state’s opioid...
EPA Eases Safety Requirements Enacted after Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
Nov 22 2019 // Days before President Barack Obama left office in 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule aimed at preventing tragedies like the 2013 explosion and fire in the tiny Central Texas town of West that...
Australia Court Rules Against Johnson & Johnson in Pelvic Mesh Class Action
Nov 21 2019 // More than 1,350 Australian women won a seven-year-old class action lawsuit on Thursday against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for misleading patients and surgeons about the risks of the pharmaceutical giant’s pelvic...
Texas Windstorm Insurer’s Actuarial Committee Recommends 5% Rate Hike
Nov 20 2019 // When the board of directors of Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast meets in December, its members will be considering a 5% rate increase recommended by the...
Senate Banking Committee Advances Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal
Nov 20 2019 // Legislation to renew the federal terrorism reinsurance program advanced another step today when it was passed by the Senate Banking Committee. The Senate legislation (S.2877) is identical to the bill (H.R. 4634) that...
Judge to Decide J&J Vaginal Mesh Lawsuit in Australia
Nov 20 2019 // An Australian judge will rule this week whether Johnson & Johnson hid the risks of its vaginal-mesh products and damaged the organs of women, in the latest ruling in worldwide litigation against the U.S. company over...
Citizens CEO Notes Impact of AOB Reforms as New Rates to Take Effect in Florida
Nov 20 2019 // The head of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. says it is already seeing a difference in assignment of benefits (AOB) litigation since reforms passed by the Florida Legislature took effect in July. Meanwhile, many Citizens...
Federal Reserve Approves BB&T and SunTrust Banks Merger
Nov 19 2019 // The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday approved the application by BB&T Corp. of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to merge with SunTrust Banks, Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia. The merged entity will be called Truist Financial...
Experts Say Oklahoma’s Insurance Business Transfer Law Will Boost Economy
Nov 19 2019 // An international forum of insurance experts meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said the Insurance Business Transfer law expected to bring an economic boost to the state. The IBT law creates a way for insurers to transfer entire...
House Passes Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal; Senate to Take Up Measure
Nov 19 2019 // The House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill reauthorizing the federal terrorism reinsurance program by a vote of 385-22. The vote came on the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R....
Florida’s New Consumer Advocate Tackles Open Hurricane Michael Claims
Nov 19 2019 // Florida’s new Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter has been busy since taking office August 1. With more than 12,000 Hurricane Michael claims still open, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation,...
West Virginia Judge Asks State Supreme Court to Decide Fate of Church Abuse Case
Nov 18 2019 // A West Virginia judge is looking to the state Supreme Court for guidance after dismissing a case that alleges a Catholic diocese and its former bishop knowingly employed pedophiles. Wood County Circuit Court Judge J.D....
Science, Enforcement Lag as Car Accidents, Claims Rise in Legal Cannabis States
Nov 18 2019 // Car crashes in the first three states to legalize recreational marijuana have soared as law enforcement and regulators struggle to define driving high, let alone determine how to fight it. Colorado, Oregon, and Washington...
Florida Expands Access to Insurtech Services and Devices
Nov 18 2019 // On June 28, 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 301 into law and, in doing so, loosened regulatory restrictions and allowed insurers and their agents to utilize innovative technologies to reduce perils to...
TWIA Struggles with Rate Making as Policyholders, Lawmakers Object to Higher Costs
Nov 18 2019 // Texas’ property insurer of last resort for wind and hail in counties along the Gulf Coast is finding itself once again between a rock and a hard place — or perhaps more appropriately, between a hurricane and a...
Judge Trims Oklahoma Opioid Penalty on J&J to $465M to Reflect Math Error
Nov 17 2019 // An Oklahoma judge on Friday said Johnson & Johnson must pay that state $465 million for fueling the opioid epidemic through the deceptive marketing of painkillers, down from his original award of $572 million. The...
