Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, September 24

Sep 24, 2012

 

To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below.  Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.




Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events

 

2:00 p.m.–Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association Board of Directors meeting; Tallahassee, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.

     


    Daily Insurance-Related News

     

    Retrial Ordered in Florida Condo Association Suit Against QBE Insurance

    A federal appellate court has reversed a $7.2 million judgment and ordered a new trial in a Florida hurricane insurance case.

     

    Editorial:  Hold auto insurers to their deal on PIP reform

    This year, state legislators and Governor Scott made a deal with Florida’s auto insurers:  We will pass a law that cracks down on fraud and overbilling in Personal Injury Protection cases.

     

    Palm Beach gets insurance money after kickback scandal 

    The town has received nearly $400,000 in insurance reimbursement for losses the town says it suffered as a result of former construction manager Steven White’s overpricing town jobs to outside contractors and receiving kickbacks from them.

     

    Study:  Medicare cuts to eliminate 36,000 Florida jobs; Collier, Lee County hospitals prepare

    Southwest Florida hospital leaders are bracing for Medicare cuts that a study says could result in the loss of nearly 36,000 health-care jobs in Florida next year.

     

    Florida conflict on health care law divides voters

    Florida ranks third nationally in the number of uninsured individuals and families, with more than one in five residents lacking insurance.

     

    Florida Governor Rick Scott reappoints veteran Lisa Edgar to Public Service Commission

    Governor Rick Scott on Friday reappointed Lisa Edgar to another four-year term on the Public Service Commission.

     

    Billionaire brothers launch effort to torpedo Florida corporate income tax

    A tea party organization founded by the billionaire Koch brothers has launched a vigorous attack on Florida’s corporate income tax, enlisting two dozen Republican legislative candidates who vow to abolish the $2.1 billion levy.

     

    Blackstone Groups says it’s looking at Tampa Bay for rental properties but won’t be spending $1 billion

    The Blackstone Group said Friday that it might buy homes in the Tampa Bay area and turn them into rentals, but that it will not be spending $1 billion here.

     

    Florida’s U.S. Senate race about to heat up

    The race for Florida’s senior U.S. Senate seat – a contest between two-term Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson and Republican challenger Connie Mack IV – is about to begin in earnest.

     

    Money becomes tight in state Senate races

    The first campaign finance reports since the August primary show some Democratic Senate candidates pulling close to — if not ahead of — their Republican opponents in raising money for the November election. 

     

    Former Democratic House speaker challenges GOP incumbent in new coastal District 89

    In 1990, George Bush the first was president, Driving Miss Daisy won the Oscar for Best Picture, The Simpsons was the new rage on TV, and Tom Gustafson was capping a 14-year career as a state lawmaker by wrapping up a two-year stint as House speaker before largely disappearing from public life.

     

    Republican Party of Florida opposes 3 Supreme Court justices’ retention

    The executive committee of the Republican Party of Florida urged voters to reject three state Supreme Court justices Friday, citing “collective evidence of judicial activism” the GOP said was illustrated by a gruesome Tallahassee murder case.

     

    Florida voters get to decide 5 amendments that would cut local government taxes $1.3 billion over 3 years

    Among the 11 referendum questions put on the November 6 ballot by the Florida Legislature, five give voters the opportunity to put more tax breaks into the state constitution.

     

    Florida is a hub for human traffickers, attorney general says

    Florida’s status as a hub for human trafficking has state officials pushing a “zero-tolerance” policy toward criminals who exploit others for profit.

     

    3 States Join Lawsuit Challenging Dodd-Frank Law

    Three U.S. states have joined a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law that overhauled U.S. financial oversight and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

     

     

     

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