Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Judge Presses PG&E on How It Will Protect Wildfire Victims’ Funds Given FEMA Demand
Jan 17 2020 // PG&E Corp. needs to explain how it will keep a promise to pay fire victims $13.5 billion in the face of a demand from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a cut of that money, a bankruptcy judge said...
Reuters Report: How Secrecy in Courts Stymies Safety Regulators
Jan 17 2020 // LEBANON, Ohio — Something wasn’t right with the Rhino. Reports started trickling in to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2005 of people being killed or injured in the Yamaha Motor Co. off-road...
Global Cannabis Revenue Pushed by Sales Doubling in Some U.S. States
Jan 16 2020 // The green rush in the global cannabis market continued in 2019, with sales doubling in seven U.S. states as well as Canada, and you can expect that trend to continue this year, a report out on Thursday shows. The report...
Lawmaker Says Maine Cannabis Needs Bank, Insurance Access
Jan 16 2020 // A Maine legislator is calling on the state’s legislative body to push the U.S. Congress to make banking and insurance accessible to legalized cannabis businesses. Republican Rep. John Andrews of Paris, Maine, said he...
Florida Legislative Preview 2020: Industry Calls On Lawmakers to Reform Lawsuit Abuse
Jan 16 2020 // The Florida Legislature started its 2020 legislative session this week and lawmakers are set to consider a number of insurance-focused issues over the course of the 60-day period. At the top of the list for industry and...
Finance, Insurance Sector ‘Wins’ in U.S.-China Trade Deal Seem Familiar
Jan 15 2020 // The long-awaited U.S.-China trade deal touted wins for U.S. companies looking to access China’s $40 trillion financial sector, but many of the changes were already in the works, with Beijing having stepped up the...
Gig Economy Law Talk of California Insurance Wholesalers Conference
Jan 15 2020 // A sweeping California gig economy law was the focus of a lot of the talk this year during an annual insurance wholesalers conference. Assembly Bill 5, California’s gig worker law was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in...
Alabama Attorney General Opposed to Anticipated Medical Marijuana Bill
Jan 15 2020 // The Alabama attorney general is opposing medical marijuana legislation expected to be introduced in the upcoming legislative session. In a Jan. 6 letter to lawmakers, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called...
Judge Orders Opioid Distributor to Turn Over Corporate Records to Shareholders
Jan 15 2020 // A Delaware judge has ordered one of the world’s largest distributors of opioid painkillers to turn over corporate records to shareholders investigating whether the company engaged in wrongdoing. The judge ruled...
Cyber Ranks as Top Peril for Companies Globally for 1st Time: Allianz Survey
Jan 15 2020 // Cyber incidents rank for the first time as the most important business risk globally, pushing the perennial top peril, business interruption (BI), into second place, according to the ninth Allianz Risk Barometer...
Judge Refuses to Stop Idaho Tribe Lawsuit Against Mining Company
Jan 14 2020 // A Clean Water Act lawsuit filed by the Nez Perce Tribe that seeks to force a Canadian gold mining company to acquire permits for pollution discharged from its central Idaho facility will be allowed to continue, a federal...
Oklahoma Bill Would Create Entity Focused on Natural Disaster, Hazard Mitigation
Jan 13 2020 // Legislation filed in Oklahoma would establish an organizational framework for addressing mitigation of natural disasters in that state. House Bill 2776, The Oklahoma Hazard Mitigation Assessment District Act, provides the...
Judge: Survivors of Tennessee Wildfire Can Sue National Park Service
Jan 13 2020 // Survivors of a historically deadly Tennessee wildfire that killed 14 people can sue the National Park Service for failing to warn them of the danger, a federal judge has ruled. The fire began in the Great Smoky Mountains...
Industry Trends to Exploit for 2020
Jan 13 2020 // The insurance industry is so intertwined into the economy and society, that just about any noticeable change in either will have some impact for the insurance industry. That is why it is imperative for agency owners to...
Judge Won’t Make Health System Fund Defense of Accused Ohio Doctor
Jan 10 2020 // A federal judge declined for now to compel a Michigan-based health system to advance legal costs for a doctor’s defense against murder charges in the deaths of 25 Ohio hospital patients. U.S. District Judge George...
Truckers Are Exempt from California’s ‘Gig Worker’ Law, Judge Finds
Jan 10 2020 // California’s new “gig worker” law does not apply to independent truck drivers because they are subject to federal statute, a Los Angeles judge ruled, handing a victory to one industry that is challenging...
Chamber of Commerce to Fight Corporate Breakups, Gig Worker Benefits
Jan 10 2020 // The leader of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the powerful business group will fight to reverse liberal policies being pushed in the states and by some Democratic candidates for president. “We will lead the...
U.K. Lawmakers Approve EU Exit at End of January with 11 Months of Trade Talks Ahead
Jan 9 2020 // Lawmakers approved legislation on Thursday which will allow Britain to leave the European Union on Jan. 31 with an exit deal, ending more than three years of tumult over the terms of the unprecedented divorce. They voted...
More Than a Dozen Florida Insurers Facing Ratings Downgrades
Jan 9 2020 // The rating agency responsible for assigning financial stability ratings (FSR) to more than 40 Florida domestic insurers has warned that several carriers will receive downgrades due to deteriorating conditions in the...
New York Governor Lays out Aggressive Climate Change Plan
Jan 9 2020 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing an aggressive climate change-fighting campaign for his state that includes a $3-billion bond act that would be put on the ballot this November. Cuomo, who says that money would go to...
