Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, March 27
Mar 27, 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
(CANCELED) 10:00 a.m.–Florida Surplus Lines Service Office National Clearinghouse Committee meeting. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Day 1: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. vs. Florida
- Read the transcript of Monday’s oral arguments and listen to audio by clicking here.
- Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has front-row seat for health care case
- Monday’s Supreme Court arguments set stage for today’s main event
- Opinion: Supreme Court Battle Over Healthcare Law Good Theater, Poor Substance
Emergency managers fine-tune hurricane evacuations
Emergency managers are testing new tools to help them decide when to order evacuations ahead of potential flooding from hurricanes.
U.S. Supreme Court Turns Away Reynolds’ Appeal of Florida Tobacco Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up appeals of four Florida lawsuits that will force R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to pay tens of millions of dollars to the families of dead smokers.
16 State Insurance Commissions Fail Integrity Evaluation
Sixteen state insurance agencies failed a national state-evaluation test, but Mississippi came out on top of the 50-state review.
- To view Florida’s report card, click here.
Florida House sends new redistricting plan to floor
Honoring a “gentlemen’s agreement” between the two chambers, the House Redistricting Committee did not attempt any changes before approving the map on party lines, though one Democrat on the panel says he intends to propose an alternative plan on Tuesday.
Blog: Democrats’ proposed map that creates 13-11 GOP majority in Congress
A Herald/Times analysis of the new congressional map submitted Monday in Leon County Circuit Court shows that the proposed districts would create 13 Republican-leaning districts, 11 Democrat-leaning districts and 3 swing districts.
Tea Party Network Wants Governor Rick Scott to Veto Medicaid, Polytechnic Bills
A coalition of 86 tea party groups around Florida is calling on Governor Rick Scott to veto four bills passed by the 2012 Legislature, including one authorizing the creation of a freestanding Polytechnic University.
Issues living in legal gray areas could foreshadow next session
Republican lawmakers declared victory at the end of the legislative session this month, passing auto insurance reform, business tax breaks and funneling $1 billion more into education – all priorities of Governor Rick Scott.
South Florida needs more toll lanes, study says
All of South Florida’s highways and even some of its major roads may one day offer tolled express lanes, if the recommendations in a study released Tuesday are carried out.
Airports play key role in Citrus’ future
Good things are happening at both the east- and west-side airports, which may be an indicator that times are improving.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review a libel case against the Times Publishing Co., effectively ending the case in the company’s favor.
Mississippi High Court Won’t Rehear Wind vs. Water Damage Case
The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied motions to reconsider its ruling last December that overturned a judgment for an insurance company in a wind vs. water case.
Alabama Has Not Yet Addressed Home Insurance Costs, Availability
Governor Robert Bentley has not yet kept a campaign promise he made in 2010 to have the Legislature address the rising cost and declining availability of homeowners’ insurance in Alabama.
Alabama inspectors doubt insurers discount premiums for houses built to code
Mobile County, Alabama, and its municipalities use different versions of the International Residential Code to determine the wind speeds that structures should be able to withstand.
New York State Senate Passes No-Fault Auto Insurance Fraud Measures
March 22, 2012 marked nine years to the day when Alice Ross, a 71-year-old grandmother, was killed in a no-fault auto insurance fraud scheme, and the day when the New York State Senate passed three bills aimed at stemming the multimillion-dollar stage-and-fraud crime trend.
Wall Street Journal: Putting Out Fires for a Fee
When fires or medical emergencies beset this rural county in the Appalachian foothills, the volunteer fire department races to the scene-seemingly free of charge.
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