Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Another GOP Candidate Files for Kansas Insurance Post
Jun 2 2014 // A veteran Republican legislator has filed to run for Kansas insurance commissioner and joined an already crowded field of candidates. Sen. Clark Shultz of Lindsborg filed the necessary paperwork on May 30 for a spot on the...
North Carolina Republicans Pursue Deregulation, Product Liability Immunity
May 27 2014 // Since taking over the legislature in 2011, North Carolina Republicans have trumpeted passing legislation designed to draw back the hand of government hanging over the private sector by getting rid of regulations they...
Oklahoma Gov. Fallin-Backed School Storm Shelter Plan Dies in Senate
May 27 2014 // The Oklahoma Senate has killed a proposal backed by Gov. Mary Fallin that would have called for a statewide vote allowing some school districts to increase property taxes to pay for safety upgrades like storm shelters and...
Billionaire’s PAC Targets 7 Republicans Who Doubt Climate Change
May 27 2014 // The super-political action committee financed by billionaire and former money manager Tom Steyer will try to raise climate change as an election issue in four U.S. Senate races and three gubernatorial contests this year,...
North Carolina Senate Votes to Make Disclosure of Fracking Chemicals Illegal
May 23 2014 // The North Carolina Senate on Thursday voted to make it a crime to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, even as big U.S. oil companies elsewhere consider releasing more information about the...
Patent Reform Deal Uncertain, Bill Pulled from Senate Agenda
May 21 2014 // Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Wednesday that he was taking a controversial patent bill off the committee’s agenda for now. The committee had been attempting to reach...
Illinois Senate Passes Ride Share Legislation
May 16 2014 // The Illinois Senate this week passed legislation requiring app-based ridesharing companies’ primary insurance be in affect the entire time the app is turned on. House Bill 4075 passed 46 to 8 and establishes...
Delaware Senate Bill Would Fund Volunteer Ambulance Services
May 16 2014 // The state Senate is set to vote on one of a series of bills aimed at providing more money to politically powerful volunteer fire companies who say their ambulance services are losing money. The bill to be voted on Thursday...
House Republicans Offer Road Map for the Future of Terrorism Insurance
May 15 2014 // Having previously played (and arguably, lost) two prior rounds of legislative “chicken” with the insurance industry, congressional conservatives are making it known that, this time around, they’re quite...
N.J.’s Congressional Delegation Raises Sandy Concerns With HUD Chief
May 12 2014 // Members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation have raised concerns about delays in helping homeowners recover from Superstorm Sandy. The lawmakers met with Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan in...
Massachusetts Senate Approves Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights
May 12 2014 // The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously passed legislation to create a “bill of rights” for nannies, caregivers and other domestic workers by establishing labor standards and other worker protections. The bill...
Republicans Fear U.S. ‘Surrender’ to International Group on Systemic Risk Designations
May 12 2014 // A group of Republican lawmakers demanded documents on Friday from U.S. regulators, voicing concerns that decisions about whether to designate large financial companies as systemically risky are unduly influenced by an...
N.Y. Senate OKs Bill Mandating Alcohol Tests After Bad Car Crashes
May 7 2014 // New York State senators have voted to require blood-alcohol tests of all drivers following serious accidents. The Senate passed the legislation on Monday. It would mandate that police test the alcohol levels of all drivers...
Louisiana Senate Panel OKs Bill to Derail Oil & Gas Lawsuit
May 5 2014 // Another bill pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration to undermine a lawsuit filed by a south Louisiana flood protection board against oil and gas companies is advancing in the state Senate. Senate Bill 469 by...
Senate Cybersecurity Bill Gives Firms Liability Protection for Sharing Data
Apr 30 2014 // U.S. administration officials, private sector executives and privacy advocates are reviewing a draft of a bill that would encourage sharing of cybersecurity data between the government and companies, two key Senators said...
Surplus Lines Insurers Could Pick Up Citizens Policies Under Senate Bill
Apr 28 2014 // Homeowners seeking coverage from Citizens Property Insurance could wind up getting policies from out-of-state insurers that are exempt from many of the state regulations other insurers must honor. The Florida Senate on...
Arizona Senate Takes Side of Uber, Lyft Ridesharing Services
Apr 24 2014 // Calling Uber a cutting-edge concept, the Arizona Senate approved a bill that exempts it and other rideshare companies from the same regulations that traditional taxi and limo companies have. The amended bill exempts...
Mining Industry Vows to Fight Obama Administration Coal Dust Rule
Apr 23 2014 // The Obama administration ordered a 25 percent cut in the levels of coal dust in U.S. mines to reduce deadly black lung disease, a move that drew criticism from the mining industry and the threat of a lawsuit. The rule...
Democrats Seize on Koch Brothers, Republican Opposition to Flood Insurance
Apr 20 2014 // 17 Apr 2014 09:00 Democrats are exploring a new attack line against the Koch brothers and Republican allies, telling voters the billionaire energy executives want to let home flood insurance premiums soar to help corporate...
Republicans to Use Burwell HHS Hearings to Question Affordable Care Act
Apr 14 2014 // Republican lawmakers said hearings on Sylvia Mathews Burwell’s nomination as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary provide a fresh opening to raise questions about President Barack Obama’s health-care...
