Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Louisiana Senate Approves Higher Car Insurance Minimums
Jun 19 2008 // The Louisiana Senate has agreed to a bill that would raise auto insurance rates in 2010 for more than one million Louisiana motorists by increasing the minimum liability coverage required for drivers. Louisiana law...
McCain, GOP Governors Split Over Disaster Fund
Jun 19 2008 // A congressional proposal to create a national “catastrophe fund” to help states recover from natural disasters has put Republican presidential hopeful John McCain at odds with a handful of GOP governors —...
California Senate Considers Agent-Broker Bill, Consumer Group Challenges Legislation
Jun 17 2008 // Three pieces of legislation will be heard in the Senate Banking, Finance and Insurance committee on Wednesday, June 17, 2008. Assemblyman Jared Huffman’s AB 2800 would allow insurance companies to require drivers to...
Alabama Insurance Agent in Runoff for Congressional Seat
Jun 16 2008 // Huntsville, Ala. insurance executive Wayne Parker and Huntsville attorney Cheryl Baswell Guthrie will be in a runoff for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District seat. Parker nearly won without a runoff...
South Carolina Senate Confirms New Public Safety Director
Jun 6 2008 // Veteran law enforcement officer Mark Keel said he is ready to get started as the new director of the South Carolina Department of Public Safety, an agency under fire recently for allegations of trooper misconduct. Keel, a...
Alabama Insurance Exec in Runoff for 5th Congressional District Seat
Jun 5 2008 // Huntsville, Ala. insurance executive Wayne Parker and Huntsville attorney Cheryl Baswell Guthrie will be in a runoff for the Republican nomination for the 5th Congressional District seat. Parker nearly won without a runoff...
North Carolina Senate Panel OKs Millions for University Campus Safety
Jun 5 2008 // A North Carolina Senate panel has approved a plan to send more than $29 million to the University of North Carolina system to improve campus security. The plan approved by a Senate judiciary committee June 3 would help the...
Louisiana Minimum Auto Insurance Bill Stalls in Senate
Jun 2 2008 // A bill that would raise mandatory minimum auto insurance levels stalled in a Senate committee when its chairman declined to break a tie vote. Louisiana law now requires car and truck owners to have “10-20-10”...
R.I. Senate Weighs System for Tracking Medical Mistakes
May 30 2008 // A Rhode Island Senate committee plans to vote on creating a new system for tracking medical mistakes and near mistakes after brain surgeons at Rhode Island Hospital operated three times on the wrong side of patients’...
Feds to Cover Denver Police Insurance Costs During Democratic National Convention
May 30 2008 // Denver city officials say the federal government will cover $1.85 million worth of insurance the city bought for outside police who help with the Democratic National Convention. Denver officials said Tuesday the insurance...
Arizona Senate Debates Ban on Texting While Driving
May 29 2008 // Arizona legislators are debating whether to ban texting while driving. Supporters say it would “send a message” about safety while critics call it overkill when other distractions such as eating and changing...
Over Protests of Insurers, Businesses, La. Senate OKs Prosthetics Bill
May 29 2008 // Beginning next year, health insurance policies written in Louisiana would have to provide at least $50,000 worth of coverage for those who need artificial limbs, under legislation approved 26-7 by the state Senate. There...
New York Senate Bill Bans Texting While Driving
May 28 2008 // The New York Senate has passed legislation that would prohibit drivers from reading, writing or sending text messages while driving in the Empire State. The law modifies earlier legislation that bans cell phone use while...
Guns in Locked Cars at Workplace OK under Louisiana Senate Bill
May 23 2008 // Employees in Louisiana would have the right to keep a legally owned firearm locked in their car in a parking lot at their place of work, if the House goes along with a bill approved 28-4 in the state Senate. Senator Joe...
Oklahoma Senate Approves Measure to Curb Copper Theft Epidemic
May 20 2008 // The Oklahoma Senate has approved legislation intended to curb the growing problem of copper theft. Senate Bill 1856, authored by Sen. Cliff Branan, R-Oklahoma City, would increase fines and punishments for the crime of...
Senate Rejects Adding Wind Coverage to Flood Insurance Program
May 19 2008 // The U.S. Senate officially rejected a bid by Gulf state senators to add wind coverage to the financially strapped federal flood insurance program. Lawmakers from Louisiana and Mississippi cited problems that occurred after...
Congressional Report Finds Civilians Working in War Zones Encounter Claims Hurdles
May 19 2008 // Civilians deployed to war zones often encounter problems receiving medical treatment and are hesitant to seek help for emotional stress caused by their deployment, a new U.S. congressional report finds. Federal policies on...
Report: Bush Administration Rulemaking Limits Consumer Lawsuits
May 15 2008 // Faced with an unfriendly Congress, the Bush administration has found another, quieter way to make it more difficult for consumers to sue businesses over faulty products. It’s rewriting the bureaucratic...
House, Senate Must Work Out Differences in Flood Insurance Bills
May 14 2008 // The Senate voted Tuesday to extend until 2013 a federal program that insures millions of U.S. homes against floods and to forgive $17 billion in debt that the program built up during Hurricane Katrina. In an issue of...
Senate Rejects Adding Wind Coverage to Flood Insurance Program, 73-19
May 12 2008 // The U.S. Senate last week officially rejected a bid by Gulf state senators to add wind coverage to a financially strapped federal program that provides flood insurance. Lawmakers from Louisiana and Mississippi cited...
