Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Utility Wants Help Paying Wildfire Victims
Aug 23 2019 // A troubled California utility company is asking the state Legislature to let it borrow money without paying taxes so it can compensate victims of a devastating wildfire caused by its equipment. Pacific Gas & Electric...
U.S. Lawmakers Urge Regulators to Treat Cloud Services as Players in Financial System
Aug 23 2019 // Two U.S. lawmakers have called on a top financial regulatory panel to consider direct oversight of the cloud services big tech companies provide to banks, saying they have become a critical component of the global...
Matiyow Joins Personal Insurance Federation of Florida as VP of Legislative Affairs
Aug 22 2019 // The Personal Insurance Federation of Florida (PIFF) has appointed Scott Matiyow as the organization’s new vice president of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs. Matiyow will serve as a lead lobbyist on property and...
The Politics Behind the Push for a Federal Marijuana Business Banking Law
Aug 21 2019 // Senator Jeff Merkley once shadowed a cannabis grower and dispenser as he tried to pay his state taxes. He stuffed a backpack with $70,000 in $20 bills and drove 50 miles — unguarded — with the bulging bag in...
Penn. Insurance Department Announces Restitution for Consumers in Annuity Scam
Aug 21 2019 // Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman said her department has gotten more than $117,000 in restitution for 25 Pennsylvania consumers victimized in a major annuity scam. “I am pleased we were able to...
Illinois Sues Company over Lead Found in Drinking Water
Aug 20 2019 // Illinois alleges that a company that provides water to a Chicago suburb made changes without permission from state regulators that caused lead to contaminate the village’s drinking water. Attorney General Kwame Raoul...
Industry Flexes Political Muscle in States to Criminalize Aggressive Pipeline Protests
Aug 20 2019 // After protesters disrupted construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota by chaining themselves to construction equipment and pitching tents along the route, oil and chemical companies found a way to keep it from...
Leaked Document Warned of Fuel, Food, Medicine Shortages If No-Deal Brexit
Aug 19 2019 // Britain will face shortages of fuel, food and medicine if it leaves the European Union without a transition deal, according to leaked official documents reported by the Sunday Times whose interpretation was immediately...
States Brace for Long-Term Flood Fight as Damages Mount
Aug 19 2019 // After devastating flooding this year, Iowa put $15 million into a special fund to help local governments recover and guard against future floods. Missouri allotted more money to fight rising waters, including $2 million to...
Trump Administration Moves Ahead with Revised Truckers’ Hours Rules
Aug 19 2019 // The Trump administration took a key step last week toward relaxing federal rules that govern the length of time truck drivers can spend behind the wheel, a move long sought by the trucking industry but opposed by safety...
Legislation Highlights Why Cyber Market Should Keep Watch on Small Business Risk
Aug 19 2019 // The 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report cited that 58% of cyberattack victims were small businesses, and the 2019 Symantec Internet Threat Report™ stated that employees working at small businesses were...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Not Filing Rate Hike for 2020
Aug 19 2019 // Texas’ provider of last resort for wind and hail insurance for coastal properties won’t be raising its residential and commercial property rates next year. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) said...
In Review of Hail Claims Cases, Texas High Court Clarifies Bad Faith in Appraisal Process
Aug 19 2019 // An insurer’s payment of the appraisal value after disputing a claim does not establish that it was liable, nor does that payment prevent a policyholder from pursuing penalties under the Prompt Payment of Claims Act,...
Florida Supreme Court Dismisses Long-Awaited Case on AOB Policy Language
Aug 19 2019 // The Florida Supreme Court has reversed course and decided not to hear a controversial case regarding the validity of certain language around assignment of benefit agreements, instead ruling that a law passed by the Florida...
Over 400 Sex Abuse Suits Filed in New York as Litigation Window Opens
Aug 16 2019 // The Roman Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, schools and hospitals, the late financier Jeffrey Epstein are some of the targets named in a flurry of sex abuse lawsuits filed Wednesday in New York as the state began accepting...
British PM Johnson Targeted by Opposition Campaigns to Block No-Deal Brexit
Aug 15 2019 // Opposition parties launched rival campaigns to topple Prime Minister Boris Johnson and stop him taking Britain out of the European Union without a deal, illustrating fractures in the anti-Brexit movement that make neither...
California Cannabis Market on Track to Hit $3.1B, Report Shows
Aug 15 2019 // After briefly faltering a year ago, California’s massive cannabis industry seems to be regaining steam. Cannabis sales in the Golden State are expected to reach nearly $3.1 billion this year, a report released today...
New Texas Law Aims to Crack Down on Roof Repair Scams
Aug 8 2019 // A new law in Texas that goes into effect on Sept. 1 makes it clear that it’s illegal for a contractor or roofer to waive an insurance deductible, according to the state insurance department. “This new law will...
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Landlord Not Liable for Infant Burned by Radiator
Aug 8 2019 // New Jersey’s Supreme Court has ruled that a landlord can’t be held responsible for burns an infant suffered rolling from a bed onto a scalding radiator. The 5-2 decision issued July 31 means the landlord...
Judge Leans in Favor of Broad Opioid Settlement Opposed by Municipalities, Drug Firms
Aug 7 2019 // A federal judge on Tuesday expressed support for a novel plan by lawyers representing cities and counties suing drug companies over the U.S. opioid epidemic that would bring every community nationally into their settlement...
