Latest news with #Bill439
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Louisiana auto insurance proposals include limits on ‘unauthorized alien' lawsuits
In their efforts to reduce auto insurance rates in Louisiana, state lawmakers advanced several bills Tuesday that seek to rein in personal injury lawsuits – including a measure to limit people hurt in wrecks who aren't legal U.S. citizens from suing. House Bill 436, sponsored by Rep. Gabe Firment, R-Pollock, cleared the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure without objection. It would prohibit 'unauthorized aliens' — defined in the measure as individuals illegally in the United States under federal immigration law — from receiving general damages stemming from auto accidents. General damages include compensation for pain and suffering, but the proposal would still allow recovery for 'special damages,' such as medical expenses and property damage. Firment, an insurance consultant, said the purpose of his bill is to help address the state's auto insurance crisis while discouraging illegal immigration. Rep. Nicholas Muscarello, R-Hammond, questioned the constitutionality of the legislation, pointing out the state could be meddling in federal immigration law. Muscarello practices civil law and is the lead criminal prosecutor for two municipalities in Tangipahoa Parish. 'The Supreme Court said that we can't enforce alien laws. That would be a federal position,' Muscarello said. 'So it might be something we could look at because there might be some constitutional issues.' Firment said his bill, which moves next to the House floor, is very narrowly focused and believes it would pass constitutional scrutiny. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Another proposal, House Bill 439, sponsored by Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette, aims to limit the amount of money lawyers can make from lawsuits. It would limit contingency fees, the money a lawyer makes only if they win a case, to 10% on the first $15,000 in damages. Any amounts beyond that would not be regulated. While presenting his bill to the committee, Hebert revealed his personal motivation for the proposal. He said his daughter was involved in a minor accident that he said resulted in almost no property damage. According to Hebert, the other driver voiced no complaints on the scene and was uninjured, yet she sued his insurer a year later. The driver sought injury damages totaling $15,000, the minimum bodily injury coverage required for auto insurance policies in Louisiana. 'Excuse my language, but I am pissed about this,' Hebert said. Hebert, a real estate professional, said he tried to convince his insurer to fight the lawsuit, but ultimately it chose to pay $15,000 to settle the case. Hebert said a limit on legal fees would discourage lawyers from pushing to get quick settlements from insurance companies, but his proposal raised concerns with some lawmakers. Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, who is a lawyer, said auto injury cases take more work than just mailing out demand letters to insurance companies. Personal injury attorneys have to interview witnesses, consult with doctors and schedule property damage adjusters, he said. Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Springs, is also an attorney who handles auto accident claims. She said she doesn't like the idea of the government fixing the prices of goods and services, though she ultimately voted in favor of Hebert's bill. 'My concern is this is an overstep with regards to free market economy,' Ventrella said. The measure cleared the committee in a 10-2 vote along party lines with Larvadain and Rep. Sylvia Taylor, D-LaPlace, who is a retired judge, opposed the bill. The committee also gave its approval to a proposal that puts a ceiling on lawsuit damages in all personal injury cases, including auto accidents. House Bill 435, sponsored by Rep. Peter Egan, R-Covington, advanced in a 10-2 vote with the same two Democrats opposed. 'I'm trying to lower rates in Louisiana,' said Egan, a health care company founder. 'I don't know if this is the bill that does it.' Egan's bill would cap general damage awards at $5 million, which Muscarello pointed out is already the maximum payout on commercial auto policies million in Louisiana. Insurance companies won't pay any more than that regardless of how much a jury awards a plaintiff, he said. Lawmakers heard testimony in support of Egan's bill from Mark Younger, who runs a produce farm in Addis. Younger said his farm was sued after one of his drivers was involved in a minor fender bender with no apparent injuries. His insurance costs became so high that he now uses an out-of-state trucking company, which Younger said pays lower insurance premiums, to deliver his products. 'It's like we're hiring one wing of the mafia to protect us from another wing of the mafia – the Louisiana State Bar,' Younger said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
West Virginia lawmakers tilt at windmills in the face of a clean energy future
The Blue Creek wind farm in Ohio, consists of 152 wind turbines with a total capacity of 304 megawatts. (Robert Zullo | States Newsroom) The West Virginia Legislature is in session again, and with that comes the to-be-expected rhetoric that puts coal on a pedestal while saying renewable energy is nothing but pixie dust and a fairy tale. A bill to change the tax structure for windmills kicked off this rhetoric for the 2025 session when it was debated in committee last month. Senate Bill 439 is sponsored by Sen. Chris Rose, R-Monongalia, who secured the Energy, Industry and Mining committee chairmanship in his freshman year in the chamber. It would change a deal made years ago to tax wind turbines at a lower rate. Coal-friendly lawmakers often cry foul that clean energy couldn't survive without tax breaks, saying it's not an even playing field. When has there ever been a fair field? Our lawmakers have created an environment where coal is entrenched and supported with government policies that encourage burning the dirty fuel and tax breaks to help. Take for example, the 2019 bailout of Pleasants Power Station. The Legislature has also passed laws to create barriers to close coal-fired power plants, even if utilities want to do that for economic reasons. I would take their arguments against tax breaks more seriously if they also weren't trying to stop clean energy projects in the first place. Another introduced bill is titled 'Prohibit future wind power projects.' Others would make solar projects harder to build and finance. West Virginians still aren't able to subscribe to community solar programs, which would lower our power bills. Opponents of solar and wind energy construction often fall back to arguments that the projects will be an eye sore or ruin the natural beauty of the land. More than once, I've heard West Virginia lawmakers specifically say this about the wind turbines that dot the mountains near the Eastern Panhandle. I wonder if these detractors feel the same way about the coal plants that sit along our state's rivers. When you take into account the damage fossil fuel extraction and burning causes, coal and gas also are getting a much better deal than clean energy. These coal plants emit tons of toxic pollution into the air every year, not to mention the wastewater they discharge directly into our ponds, rivers and lakes. Coal plants also fill acre after acre with toxic coal ash, much of which is unlined in our state, posing an extreme health risk to our groundwater and public health. If someone offered to place a new coal-fired power plant in their jurisdiction, I doubt the anti-clean energy lawmakers would put up the same fight, despite coal plants posing more risk and their smog being more of an eye sore. Everything has risks, and pros and cons. But they're not equal. Windmills and solar panels have to be decommissioned once they reach their useful end of life. But so do coal plants, ultimately. The difference between them is how much risk harm they cause while they operate, and I'll pick the clean energy every time. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
