Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, March 3
Mar 3, 2008
Â
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
Florida lawmakers will confront insurance woes when the session begins Tuesday
Pay now or pay later?
Once again lawmakers will wrestle with this question as they deal with the insurance crisis during Florida’s regular legislative session, which opens Tuesday.
Property Insurance Reforms On Table
A year after passing a comprehensive package of property insurance reforms, lawmakers will consider reforms that would place more hurricane risk in the laps of private insurers.
What issues legislators will tackle before adjourning May 2
Money, as always, will dominate the session. In this election year there will be less to go around. Here are summaries of some of the issues lawmakers will tackle before adjourning May 2.
State is gambling on hurricane insurance
With the 2008 hurricane season inching into our consciousness and the legislative session upon us, legislators are again sweating the potential consequences of their actions on insurance.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Submits Annual Report on Freedom to Travel Law
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today submitted the 2008 Freedom to Travel Report to legislative leaders detailing the Office of Insurance Regulation’s (Office) efforts to implement the “Freedom to Travel Act,” which was passed in 2006, and codified into law at Section 626.9541(1)(dd), Florida Statutes.
OPINION: Property insurance: Still living in fear of the really big one
Reinsurance. If you knew what that word meant three or four years ago, congratulations. You’re an insurance agent.
FIRM readies for tempest of rates
Members of Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe (FIRM) are gearing up for another battle with windstorm insurance rates.
Top priorities of legislative leaders
Top priorities of legislative leaders for the 2008 session
Local senators’ plans for the session
Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast boast two of the Senate’s most powerful members: Senate President Ken Pruitt and Jeff Atwater, whose colleagues have tapped him to succeed Pruitt. Here are local senators’ plans for the session:
Lawmakers wrestle over $1.1 billion budget cut
A day before the gavel falls to signal the opening of the 2008 session, lawmakers begin haggling today over where to cut $500 million from the current state budget.
Budget woes will dominate 2008 session
With state tax collections in freefall and the budget on a record-breaking decline, Florida lawmakers not only must pass a scrawny budget as they convene for their annual session this week, they must try to avoid having it reshape the political landscape for years to come.
County, cities submit $20M wish list
The requests for state money, pared back because the state’s wallet is thin, include $2.8 million to widen a road.
The state’s legislative session begins Tuesday, but in tight budget times local governments say they aren’t holding their breath for funding for roads, bridges and other projects.
EDITORIAL: Tough choices await state lawmakers
If lawmakers don’t know it already, they will discover when they convene in Tallahassee Tuesday for the 60-day legislative session that the party is over. We’re not talking about the lobbyist-fueled party circuit, but about running one of the largest states in the union, which is in deep trouble.
Rubio’s undeterred by series of setbacks
On the eve of his final legislative session, House Speaker Marco Rubio received another in a series of setbacks that have dogged Florida’s first Cuban-American speaker over the past 18 months: His chamber lost a GOP seat to the Democrats.
What’s at stake in your community?
The fight over Florida’s battered state budget is expected to dominate the two-month legislative session that begins Tuesday. Besides the big-ticket battles — over funding for education, social services, roads and the like — local lawmakers will be fighting to preserve $241 million for dozens of area projects, part of some $2 billion in such requests sought statewide.
These are heady days for Gov. Charlie Crist. As he begins his second year in office, his popularity is still in the clouds and his environmental agenda has drawn praise from Democrats such as Al Gore and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is embraced by Hollywood liberals even as his star rises in national Republican politics.
Crist Tries to Skirt Sophomore Jinx
Highly popular governor may find a less cooperative Legislature in second session.
Last year, Gov. Charlie Crist muscled sweeping plans to cut property taxes and insurance rates through a star-struck Legislature.
Crist thinks prosperity will help state overcome its economic slump
House Speaker Marco Rubio will be forced out of power by term limits after this session.
OPINION: Yes, there’s the budget; there’s also a lot more
To understand how hard it will be to get a hearing on any non-budget or non-tax bills during this session of the Legislature, imagine that you’re a father trying to buy a Miley Cyrus ticket outside a sold-out arena on a Saturday night.
Crist Says He’d Support a Repeat of Florida Democratic Primary
Florida Governor Charlie Crist said he’d support a repeat of the Democratic presidential primary so the state’s delegates can be counted at the party’s national convention.
Crist seeks hospital deregulation
Will more hospitals mean tougher competition and cheaper prices for consumers?
Green energy costs concern businesses
The debate over going green has leaped miles beyond whether to pursue such options to the bedeviling question of how.
Residents’ applications for homestead exemption must be filed today
On Jan. 29, Florida voters approved a measure to allow homeowners to carry their tax savings with them to a new property.
Economy could push lawmakers to bet on gaming
Grim state finances could create a golden opportunity for pro-gaming lawmakers hoping to gain ground in a state once known as an anti-gambling stronghold.
Lawmakers rush to raise funds before session starts
In Tallahassee, today is Lundi Gras, or Fat Monday – the last day for state House and Senate members to gorge on campaign contribution checks before Tuesday’s opening of the annual legislative session begins a 60-day period of forced money-raising abstinence for lawmakers.
Deal lets courts avoid shutdown
Lawmakers come up with the money to avoid a shutdown, but it’s only a reprieve.
Hoping to avoid the spectacle of closed courtrooms, state lawmakers announced a last-minute deal Friday to plug a hole in Florida’s judicial budget.
Red-light cameras are coming, and a state legislator wants to allow more.
Driving around Clearwater last week, Peter Paulding was stunned by how many cars were running red lights.
EDITORIAL: IS FLORIDA OVER? What do Floridians think?
In September, The Wall Street Journal asked that question in a front-page headline.
California’s former insurance commissioner turned Florida deputy shoots suspect
California’s former insurance commissioner, who resigned during a 2000 election scandal, is again facing scrutiny – this time as a Florida lawman who shot someone he was trying to arrest.
Lawmakers May Alter CSX Rail Deal
For more than two years, the state Department of Transportation has been fashioning a deal with CSX Transportation to buy its railroad tracks in the Orlando area and help the company expand its freight operations into Polk County.
Flood Program Reform May Go Nowhere, Says Official
Congress may renew authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program to operate without adopting any reforms, a ranking federal official told state lawmakers meeting here.
 
Buffett Says U.S. in a Recession; Pulls Back on Muni Bond Offer
Warren Buffett on Monday said the U.S. economy is in recession and that “stocks are not cheap.”
Speaking on CNBC television, Buffett also said he is no longer offering to guarantee $800 million of municipal bonds backed by MBIA Inc, Ambac Financial Group Inc and FGIC Corp, three large bond insurers.
AIG Posts $5.29 Billion Fourth-Quarter Loss on Credit Default Swaps Charges
American International Group Inc., the largest insurer in the U.S., lost more than $5 billion in the fourth quarter as bad credit ate into its investments, the company said Thursday.
Ambac Cuts Dividend, Suspends Asset-Backed Insurance (Update1)
Ambac Financial Group Inc., the AAA rated bond insurer seeking to avoid a crippling downgrade, cut its dividend and will suspend writing guarantees on new asset- backed securities for six months to bolster capital.
Miss. Senate Approves $25 Million for Wind Pool to Help Gulf Coast
Freshman Sen. Michael Watson knows the sting of rising insurance costs on the hurricane-battered Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Judge Dismisses Ala. Contempt Case against Miss. Attorney Scruggs
A federal judge dismissed a criminal contempt charge against Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs last week, giving the prominent lawyer one less case to worry about as he fights a more serious bribery indictment.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to ccochran@cftlaw.com