Declarations

Federal Aid

“We need a more disciplined, structured plan for providing federal assistance following any major natural disaster.”

—U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D.-Fla, in asking the U.S. Treasury to provide assurances to private market lenders that any loans they make in Florida would be repaid at fair market interest in the event of a catastrophe. Nelson has filed a bill that would allow the federal government to step in with loans to the state’s catastrophe fund, which has a hurricane catastrophe obligation of $28 billion but the capacity to pay only $10 billion in claims.

Liddy Appeal

“I need all the help I can get.”

—Edward Liddy, chairman and chief executive of American International Group Inc., who had the unenviable job of batting back questions from a House panel of members outraged at the company for paying $165 million in employee bonuses after getting up to $180 billion in government aid.

Financial Product Safety

“This meltdown would not have occurred if this commission had been in place.”

—Rep. William Delahunt, D.-Mass., who along with Rep. Brad Miller, D.-N.C., introduced legislation that would create a Financial Product Safety Commission to crack down on unsafe lending practices. The agency’s mission would include examining the safety of financial products before they hit the market, conduct studies and educate consumers. Miller, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said the idea could be folded into financial regulation reforms that would include a systemic risk regulator.

Rate Warning

“I hope that the legal and business communities will be able to strike an appropriate balance between the access to courts and the economic impact on Florida’s businesses while also still keeping workers’ compensation rates affordable for employers. Otherwise, failure to act will result in rate increases.”

—Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty as the state Legislature weighed legislation to reinstate a cap on attorneys’ fees in workers’ compensation cases that the Supreme Court struck down last year.

Officer Duty

“An officer already has the authority to cite a driver whenever unsafe operation is caused by cell phone use, text messaging, applying cosmetics or any other activity that prevents the driver from operating the vehicle in a safe manner.”

—Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper in an opinion holding that sending or reading texts while driving falls under a law prohibiting the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle. Rep. Vince Dean, an East Ridge Republican and chairman of the House Public Safety Subcommittee, requested the opinion after hearing proposed legislation that would fine a person $50 for such behavior while driving.

Topics Florida Legislation