Regulation
Facing Off Over Funerals
Big changes could be in store funeral directors now that a federal judge in Pennsylvania has ordered the state to rewrite its funeral regulations. (Photo Chris Hondros, Getty Images) In 1993, when Harry Neel decided to build a funeral home on the grounds of the cemetery he had purchased outside Pittsburgh, he faced two challenges. […]
Insurance Changes Explained: Why State Officials Are Nervous About New Federal Rules
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, center, chairman of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, presides over an April session of the Council in Washington. State insurance regulators say there are not enough people with insurance expertise on the panel. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP) Congress passed the 848-page Dodd-Frank law two years ago to try to prevent […]
Citing Risks of Cancer, States Seek to Limit Teen Tanning
Legislators and cancer researchers are trying to turn out the lights on indoor tanning for teens. Lawmakers in 12 states are currently debating bills restricting tanning bed use for anyone under age 18, with some states allowing parental consent and other imposing an outright ban, according to analysis from the National Conference of State Legislatures. […]
Wyoming Governor to Decide on Cap for ATM Fees
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead must decide whether his state will remain the only one in the nation to impose a cap on ATM fees, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Mead is deciding whether to sign or veto legislation that would eliminate Wyoming’s maximum -per-transaction fee. The legislation reached Mead’s desk with overwhelming support among lawmakers, the […]
Car Insurance by the Mile Debuts in California
California drivers who keep their cars in the garage will now be able to get discounts on auto insurance. The state’s Department of Insurance gave companies the green light last year to charge customers based on the number of miles driven, with the goal of cutting back traffic and saving drivers money. Insurance carriers like […]
Republicans Reward Business With Lawsuit Limitations
Courtesy of Larry Mocha“I remember the days when the attorneys didn’t advertise,” says Larry Mocha, an Oklahoma businessman who has been lobbying for state and federal lawsuit limitations for 20 years. “Now you’ve got them on TV advertising that they’ll file a lawsuit for nothing.” For the last two decades, Larry Mocha has had a […]
Is Telephone Regulation Obsolete?
Joanne Wieting, of Dunbar, Wisconsin, has been using a landline telephone all her life and has no plans to get rid of it and go the cell phone-only route. In fact, she says, she couldn’t do that if she wanted to. Wieting is the office manager of a company that distributes copper products for log […]
Nebraska Set to Extend Bars’ Closing Time
Under a bill sent to the governor’s desk on Friday (April 9), Nebraska soon could join most other states and allow residents to order drinks until 2 a.m., an hour later than is now the case. The bill would allow local governments to decide whether they want to embrace the later closing time, according to […]
States Spar With Credit Rating Agencies
STATE BOND RATINGS Before states sell bonds, the three major credit rating agencies evaluate the creditworthiness of the bonds, or states’ ability to repay the principal and interest. Triple A is the highest rating and triple B is the lowest; anything below that is a junk bond. Moody’s Standard & Poor’s Rating State name Outlook […]
Voters May Decide Fate of Payday Loans
The fight between state lawmakers and payday lenders has entered a new phase as the industry is attempting to get on the ballot this fall in Ohio and Arizona and take its case directly to voters. Until now, the industry has largely confined its efforts to battling state legislatures, many of which have moved to […]
Fed Plan Would Shrink States’ Powers
Some state officials see the federal government’s plan to overhaul the country’s financial regulatory systems as an intrusion on their powers to enforce state laws, and state regulators warn that it could carry grave consequences for consumers. Insurance rates could climb, efforts to fix the mortgage industry mess could be stalled and a grassroots banking […]
States Lose in Bank Squabble With Feds
State regulators are locked out of a slice of the home mortgage-lending industry, thanks to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. But the turf war between states and the federal government over banking regulations isn’t over. A different case, launched by New York’s then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, now governor, will test whether states can wedge […]