Latest Legislation Headlines
All the headlines from our Legislation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Group Warns Climate Regulations Could Disrupt Investment Strategies
Dec 10 2019 // Tighter government climate regulations by 2025 could wipe up to $2.3 trillion off the value of companies in industries ranging from fossil fuel producers to agriculture and car makers, an investor group warned in a...
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide on Delaware Appointing Judges Based on Political Party
Dec 9 2019 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the state of Delaware’s system of requiring ideologically balanced courts is lawful. The nine justices will hear the state’s appeal of an April ruling...
Judge: 1851 Maritime Law Doesn’t Apply in Missouri Duck Boat Case
Dec 9 2019 // A federal judge has ruled that an 1851 maritime law does not protect a company from making payments to families of people aboard a tourist boat that sank on a Missouri lake, killing 17 people. After the July 2018 sinking...
UK Judge Blocks Nigerian Court’s Oil Spill Damages Order Against Shell
Dec 8 2019 // Royal Dutch Shell Plc units won a UK ruling preventing London courts from enforcing a $516 million Nigerian judgment for damages caused by an oil spill half a century ago. Judge Jason Coppel on Thursday overturned an...
Officials Say Regulation Standards Factor in Alaska Quake Damage
Dec 6 2019 // Assessments following Alaska’s enormous 2018 earthquake showed building damage was worse outside Anchorage’s safety area because of reduced regulation, municipal officials said. There was less structural damage...
California Commissioner Calls for Statewide Non-Renewal Moratorium, More Measures to Protect Wildfire Victims
Dec 5 2019 // California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Thursday issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance companies non-renewing policyholders, a move he says will help at least 800,000 homes in wildfire disaster...
Sitte Appointed Government Affairs Director for Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Dec 5 2019 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has appointed Allison Hess Sitte as Government Affairs director for the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), effective Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. Allison Sitte Sitte most recently...
Directors and Officers Face Significantly Higher Range of Risks: Allianz Report
Dec 4 2019 // The range of risks facing company executives, or directors and officers (D&Os), has increased significantly in recent years along with resulting insurance claims, according to a report published by Allianz Global...
Factors that Contribute to Prolonged Recovery after California Wildfires
Dec 4 2019 // This post is part of a series sponsored by CoreLogic. As strong winds further exasperate the prime weather conditions for wildfires in California, efforts to save lives and property are a foremost priority of emergency...
Reuters Special Report: Powder Keg- Regulators Bowed to Industry for Decades Over Talc Risks
Dec 3 2019 // At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The...
Texas Plant Rocked by Explosions Was Declared High Priority Violator by EPA
Dec 3 2019 // The Port Neches, Texas, chemical plant where two explosions and a fire prompted widespread mandatory evacuations on Nov. 27 has a years-long history of state and federal environmental violations. The facility owned by...
Vape Crisis Prompts Calls for Greater Clarity in Cannabis Regulation
Dec 3 2019 // Cannabis industry lawyers are calling for greater clarity around regulation of the cannabis industry. Panelists at the 2019 Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Conference in Washington D.C. this month said...
Judge Blocks Facebook Data Breach Victims from Suing for Damages as Group
Dec 2 2019 // A federal judge said up to 29 million Facebook Inc. users whose personal information was stolen in a September 2018 data breach cannot sue as a group for damages, but can seek better security at the social media company...
Opioid Makers, Distributors Could Face U.S. Criminal Charges
Nov 27 2019 // Federal prosecutors are investigating six pharmaceutical companies for potential criminal charges in connection with shipping big quantities of opioid painkillers that contributed to a healthcare crisis, according to...
Oregon High Court Rules .09% Not Enough to Convict for Drunken Driving
Nov 27 2019 // The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that a driver whose blood alcohol content registered .09% nearly two hours after he was stopped should not have been convicted of drunken driving. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the...
Dive Boat on Which 34 Died in Southern California Exempt From Safety Rules
Nov 27 2019 // The diving boat that caught fire on Labor Day off Southern California, killing 34 people, was among hundreds of small vessels exempted by the U.S. Coast Guard from stricter safety rules designed to make it easier for...
Senate Democrats’ Bill Would Establish Consumer Rights Over Internet Data, Privacy
Nov 27 2019 // Democratic senators proposed legislation on Tuesday that would set penalties for online companies like Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. if they mishandle users’ personal data. The measure comes at a...
Uber’s London License Ban Marks Global Regulatory Backlash for Ride-Hailing Firms
Nov 27 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc. and its rivals disrupted global transport, riding on a lack of regulation to drive exponential growth. Now, regulators are closing in. London’s transport authority banned Uber for a second time...
Lawmakers Question Airbnb Over Rental Listings in Violation of Local Laws
Nov 27 2019 // U.S. lawmakers are asking Airbnb Inc. to provide information about hosts that list short-term rentals on the site who don’t comply with local laws and violate the company’s own policies. In a letter to Airbnb...
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...
