Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Senate Approves Windstorm Bill
May 4 2009 // The Texas Senate approved a new structure for the state’s depleted windstorm insurance fund last week, providing a combination of potential rate hikes, bonding and other revenue to ensure the account gets...
Florida Senate, House Seek to Close Property Insurance Legislation Gaps
Apr 29 2009 // The Florida House and Senate are trying informally to work out differences in bills to address the state’s property insurance crisis, including how much rates for more than one million customers of the state-backed...
Handsfree Cell Phone Bill Headed to Colorado Senate
Apr 29 2009 // A bill requiring Colorado drivers to use handsfree devices while talking on cell phones is headed to the Senate for a vote. The Senate Appropriations Committee backed House Bill 1094 on a 6-4 vote after exempting some...
Oklahoma Senate Rejects Attorney Fee Caps; Tort Reform Bill Still Alive
Apr 24 2009 // The Oklahoma Senate rejected a plan to cap plaintiff attorney fees, while voting to keep alive a Republican-sponsored bill to shake up the state’s civil justice system in an effort to curtail lawsuits. Senate...
Missouri Senate Scales Back Uninsured Driver Crackdown
Apr 23 2009 // Missouri senators have scaled back an effort to force people to get car insurance by limiting how much uninsured drivers could collect in court. A bill increasing the penalty for creating a fake insurance card received...
Despite Veto, Okla. Senate Vows to Send Work Comp Law to Voters
Apr 22 2009 // The Oklahoma State Senate has passed a referendum that would allow Oklahomans to vote next year on a proposal to require Senate approval of the governor’s workers’ compensation judicial nominees. The Senate...
Texas Senate OK’s Bill to Lower Standard of Proof in Asbestos Lawsuits
Apr 21 2009 // Handing a rare victory to personal injury trial lawyers, the Texas Senate recently passed legislation that would make it easier for certain people to recover damages after being exposed to asbestos. The bill, which passed...
Texas Senate Approves Insurance Department ‘Sunset’ Bill
Apr 21 2009 // The Texas Senate has approved a measure that allows the continued operation of the Texas Department of Insurance, but would slightly reform its operations, according to a Senate new release. The bill’s author Senator...
Colorado Senate Panel Looks at Workers’ Comp to Fund Higher Ed
Apr 20 2009 // Colorado lawmakers are looking at a plan to take $500 million from the state-created workers’ compensation insurance company to reverse deep cuts in higher education. The Senate Appropriations Committee reviewed the...
Colo. Democrats Offer Alternate Budget Cuts
Apr 17 2009 // Democratic legislators in Colorado are offering an alternate package of budget cuts to avoid eliminating $300 million in funding to state colleges and universities, according to plans obtained by The Associated Press. The...
Colorado Senate Votes to Take $500 Million from Workers’ Comp Insurer
Apr 15 2009 // The Colorado Senate has backed two measures aimed at taking $500 million from a state-created workers compensation insurance company to balance next year’s budget over the objections of Pinnacol Assurance and the...
Oklahoma Senate Votes to Lengthen Statute of Limitations for Arson
Apr 10 2009 // The Oklahoma Senate has approved by unanimous vote a measure that would lengthen the statute of limitations for prosecuting felony arson cases. Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, co-author of House Bill 1088, said that improved...
Texas Senate Dems Block Insurance Department Sunset Legislation
Apr 10 2009 // Democrats in the Texas Senate have moved to block key insurance legislation as they push for more consumer protections and lower homeowner rates. Using filibuster rules, Democrats refused to allow debate on a measure...
Colorado Senate Panel Looks at Workers’ Comp to Fund Higher Ed
Apr 9 2009 // Colorado lawmakers are looking at a plan to take $500 million from the state-created workers’ compensation insurance company to reverse deep cuts in higher education. The Senate Appropriations Committee reviewed the...
Florida Cap on Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Fees Goes to Senate
Apr 2 2009 // A bill that would trump a Florida Supreme Court ruling and restore a cap on attorneys’ fees in workers’ compensation cases passed the Florida House after some mild debate. Following a second round of discourse...
Florida Senate Postpones Vote on Catastrophe Funding Bill
Apr 2 2009 // A Senate committee searching for ways to improve Florida’s shaky property insurance situation and lower the state’s risk recommended borrowing money from the state retirement system to obtain some short-term...
Texas Senate Approves Anti-DWI Bills
Mar 31 2009 // The Texas Senate has approved two measures aimed at reducing drunk-driving fatalities in Texas. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Texas was second only to California in 2007 in...
Missouri Senate Repeals Fire Marshal Inspection Rule
Mar 27 2009 // On March 25, Missouri Senators endorsed legislation that would repeal a requirement that fire safety inspections in Missouri long-term care facilities be performed by local fire departments or the state fire...
North Dakota Senate Advances Fire-Safe Cigarette Bill
Mar 26 2009 // North Dakota smokers may have to get used to puffing more frequently to help prevent accidental fires. The state Senate voted 41-0 this week to approve legislation that says North Dakota tobacco merchants may sell only...
Democrats’ Bills Would Create U.S. Financial Product Safety Commission
Mar 26 2009 // Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday introduced legislation that would create a financial products watchdog to crack down on unsafe lending practices. Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and Brad Miller of...
