Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1148, a bill regulating electric bikes (e-bikes) and essentially treating them like bikes that are pedaled, passed its second committee of reference in the Senate on February 10, 2020 without amendment. The bill creates a three-tier system for e-bikes which allegedly is consistent with the federal definitions…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill allowing advertising on the roofs of TNC vehicles and creating luxury ground transportation TNCs advanced in the Senate this week with a strike all amendment to bring it closer to the House companion. The amendment also adds language exempting all TNCs for liability in certain circumstances. As…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House transportation omnibus bill, HB 395, that includes some insurance related provisions passed its second committee on February 10, 2020. But, the changes to the TNC law, including the creation of disability accessible TNCs, were removed by an amendment adopted (344153). The bill’s changes to the financial responsibility…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel This week, committees in the House and Senate advanced CFO Patronis’ DFS Consumer Protection bills, HB 1137 and SB 1492. Both bills have one committee left. In the Senate, a strike all amendment (957714) was approved to bring the Senate bill closer to the House bill. The amendment…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On February 6, 2020, the House air ambulance bill cleared its last committee of reference and will now be heard on the House floor when set by the Rules Committee. Under current law, air ambulances are still allowed to balance bill consumers. In contrast, balance billing by out-of-network health…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 599 by Rep. Anna Maria Rodriguez (R) expands the scope of practice for consultant pharmacists. A similar bill passed the House last year, but died in the Senate when it was never heard in committee. This year’s consultant pharmacist bill was approved by its last committee of reference…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 813 protects vulnerable investors from financial exploitation by allowing investment advisors or dealers to delay financial transactions if they suspect financial exploitation. Similar bills were filed in prior Sessions, but never passed. Some life insurers are interested in this bill because they employ investment advisors or dealers that…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 540, dealing with FIGA and FWCIGA, unanimously passed its last Senate committee on February 5, 2020 and will be next heard on the Senate floor. The bill was not amended. It is supported by FIGA and FWCIGA and is substantially similar to a bill that passed the House…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill designed to put requirements on litigation financing to protect consumers, but not to outright ban litigation financing, passed the House Appropriations Committee on February 5, 2020. The bill was not amended. Specifically, HB 7041: Requires a litigation financier to register with the Department of State and file…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1279 tweaks the health insurance shared savings program. It passed its second committee on February 4, 2020 and is now in its last committee. The bill was not amended. The shared savings program was created in 2019 as a voluntary program for health insurers and HMOs to provide…