[S-H] State Farm Hearings Today
The Sun Herald is reporting on hearings in the State Farm Insurance case, two of which were scheduled for today. Policyholders will have a limited opportunity to present their concerns.
Policyholders such as Benvenutti were stunned when State Farm denied their claims without investigations. Some say State Farm ignored their evidence of wind damage, which the company denies.
Attorneys for Ocean Springs homeowner Judy Guice will argue at a 10 a.m. hearing that Judge Senter should certify her lawsuit against State Farm for class action. This would allow Guice’s attorneys to represent all policyholders left with only slabs.
They are seeking full coverage for the policyholders, maintaining State Farm failed to meet its burden of proving water caused the losses. Policyholders also would reserve their right to sue the company for extra punitive damages.
On Tuesday, Guice’s attorneys filed a motion saying they have State Farm records showing the company knew it had the burden of proof in slab cases.
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 04:36 PM on 02/28/07. Discuss (1)
[Release] AG Hood to Testify Before Congress Wednesday
Verbatim from AG’s office:
Jackson, MS--Attorney General Jim Hood is set to testify before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in Washington, D.C. tomorrow, Wednesday, February 28, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. (EST) in room 2128 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will investigate insurance adjustment claims issues affecting residents in the Gulf Coast area after Hurricane Katrina. For the latest on committee proceedings, please visit http://www.agjimhood.com. Attorney General Hood will be available for interviews immediately following his testimony.
Posted by ladd at 04:39 PM on 02/27/07. Discuss (0)
Zata3 Polls Job Performance of State Candidates
Zata3, a Democratic pollster with offices in Washington and Mississippi, released new statewide job performance polling data for a number of Mississippi officials. The news is pretty good for most of the incumbents looking for re-election or election to higher office, with approval rates over 50% for many of them. Results for incumbents in state office include:
- Eric Clark, Secretary of State: 57% approval, 13% disapproval, 28% don’t recognize
- Jim Hood, Attorney General: 54% approval, 18% disapproval, 18% don’t recognize
- Tate Reeves, Treasurer: 61% approval, 12% disapproval, 28% don’t recognize
- Lester Spell, Agriculture Commissioner: 57% approval, 19% disapproval, 24% don’t recognize
- George Dale, Insurance Commission: 55% approval, 30% disapproval, 16% don’t recognize
Noteworth is Tate Reeve’s high approval rating and the recognizability of Hood and Dale. Dale is both the most recognizable and the most disapproved of among the statewide elected officials, with 18% registering a “very unfavorable” response.
Posted by admin at 01:59 PM on 02/27/07. Discuss (0)
[S-H] Taylor Answers Questions at Town Hall
The Sun-Herald covered a town hall meeting by U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) with many questions focusing on Gulf Coast rebuilding and insurance companies.
When asked about the antitrust status of insurance companies, Taylor said, “It’s legal, but it’s wrong.” He said that the insurance companies gained this status during the Great Depression.
Posted by admin at 10:49 AM on 02/27/07. Discuss (0)
[C-L] Barbour Announces Toyota Plant
The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that Governor Haley Barbour announced a $1.3 billion Toyota manufacturing plant (or $830 million, says Marketwatch) this morning. The plant will be located in Blue Springs, Miss., outside of Tupelo. The plant is expected to begin operations in 2010, building the mid-sized Toyota Highlander SUV. According to Marketwatch, the plant location in Mississippi offers synergies with existing Toyota plants, including an engine manufacturing facility in Alabama. The plant will be Toyota’s 11th (including both engine and assembly plants) in the United States, adding U.S. capacity for the company which has recently overtaken General Motors to become the largest vehicle maker worldwide.
Click full story for verbatim press release.
Posted by admin at 10:06 AM on 02/27/07. Discuss (16)
[Desk] Barbour to Make Tupelo Eco-Devo Announcement—Toyota???
A press alert just came from Gov. Haley Barbour:
(Jackson, Miss.) Governor Haley Barbour will make a major economic development announcement at a news conference on Tuesday, February 27, 2007, in Tupelo, Miss. The news conference will begin at 9 a.m. at Tupelo High School’s Performing Arts Center, 4125 Cliff Gookin.
Speculation is that this is he is going to announce the luring of a Toyota plant. This is great news, especially considering that Toyota is America’s No. 1 car producer now over GM.
Posted by ladd at 06:50 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Analysis] Barbour Lobbying Firm Staying Blood Red
The Politico in Washington is reporting that Barbour’s old (?) lobbying firm is holding steady against Democratic business even in a new D.C.:
Barbour Griffith & Rogers was founded by political infighter and now Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), and his old partners are now bucking the post-midterm trend of bringing in a Democrat. It’s a counterintuitive strategy that carries obvious risks, not the least being diminished access to the emerging power centers on Capitol Hill. But the firm’s path, which plots a decidedly different course than most other GOP shops in town, also rests on a gamble: that at a time of razor-thin partisan margins in Congress and increasingly complex public policy, what you know can be as important—and lucrative—as who you know. That helps explain why Barbour Griffith & Rogers was signing on a handful of policy experts last year when many Republican-controlled lobbying shops were scooping up key Democratic aides and operatives.
Among the firm’s new hired guns: Stephen Rademaker, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s national policy director; Mary Lacey Reuther, a health care expert from the Bush administration; and Celeste Ward, a military operations and Iraq expert who worked at the Pentagon.
Posted by ladd at 06:46 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Desk] Barbour & Guvs Want Federal Broadband Auction
The Austin American-Statesman a fun exchange with Haley Barbour:
Members of the Southern Governors Association were discussing the need for national legislation regarding a federal auction of broadband spectrum. ?We?re not Congress; we can actually get something done,? declared Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.
?So much for your legislation up there,? quipped Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat.
?My legislation went out the window in November,? shot back Barbour, who chaired the Republican National Committee during the 1990s.
Posted by ladd at 06:43 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (10)
[Desk] Lott Vows to ‘Bring Down’ State Farm, Industry
"The Corner” at National Review Online reported Feb. 23 that Sen. Trent Lott made a courtesy call to Chuck Chamness, the CEO of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, to let the insurance industry know what train was headed their way. Chamness later summed up the conversation in a letter back to Lott:
The key passage: “Your comment that you will dedicate your next term of office to ‘bringing down State Farm and the industry’ through all means available to you, including legislation designed to harm the property/casualty insurance industry, was very unsettling, to say the least.”
Posted by ladd at 06:27 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Analysis] Abortion Bills Motivated by Politics?
The Associated Press is analyzing last week’s abortion bills by quoting Sen. Gloria Williamson saying that it was all about getting votes in an election year.
When the Mississippi House debated a bill to ban most abortions in the state, 16 of the 121 members eventually voted no, but none of them stood up to argue against the plan. Some lawmakers say it was no coincidence that the contentious issue came up for debate just a week before candidates’ qualifying deadline for this year’s elections.
“I think this was done in a political year for political reasons,” Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, said the day after the bill passed the House. Thursday is the final day for candidates to file qualifying papers for a host of offices in Mississippi, from governor to county supervisor.
Posted by ladd at 06:17 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Desk] Legislative Roundup, Feb. 8
by Adam Lynch
Feb. 8
With deadlines looming, the Mississippi Legislature traditionally moves like the Tasmanian Devil during this part of the session, and Thursday was no exception.
The House passed HB 1492, a controversial bill that could prove to be the first real step in a statewide opening of parks to development.
Representatives voted 84 to 34 that six parks and some additional public territory in the state should be open for private development?as a means of providing revenue to the state parks division.
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 09:39 AM on 02/09/07. Discuss (5)
[Desk] Legislative Update, Feb. 7
by Adam Lynch
Feb. 7
The Senate had a busy day Wednesday, passing some bills that will likely be stomped down by the House in upcoming weeks.
The Senate passed SB 2617 this morning, a voter I.D. bill almost identical to a voter I.D. bill killed across the hall last year. The bill makes it mandatory for a voter to present a form of identification?with or without a photo?at the polling place in order to cast a vote.
Republicans and some conservative Democrats say the law will prevent identity theft at the polls and reduce voter fraud. Sen. Alice Harden, D-Jackson, says that the bill addresses a problem that isn?t there.
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 10:54 AM on 02/08/07. Discuss (11)
[Release] Mississippi Senate May Reduce MAEP
Nancy Loome of the Parent Campaign sent this e-mail around this morning:
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet acted on House Bill 238, the education funding bill. Some Senators have indicated that the Senate will introduce its own education funding bill rather than taking action on the House bill.
Any education funding bill will need to address several issues if our children are to be afforded an adequate education. Your legislators have heard your call to “fully fund the MAEP” and I believe most Senators will vote to fully fund that piece of the funding puzzle. Certainly the MAEP formula is the most significant - and the largest - piece of that puzzle. It is not, however, the only important piece, and this year is looks as though the other pieces are the ones we need to keep an eye on in the Senate.
Posted by ladd at 10:27 AM on 02/08/07. Discuss (2)
[Release] Secretary of State Eric Clark Won’t Run
According to a statement (PDF, 630k) released today, Secretary of State Erik Clark (D) has announced that he will not re-run for the office this year. Touting his success on Coast tideland issues, balancing casino development with environmental concerns and implementing the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), Clark gave no immediate indication of future plans.
Posted by admin at 02:44 PM on 02/05/07. Discuss (5)
[S-H] U.S. House Committee to Investigate Katrina Insurance Companies
In an exclusive, the Sun-Herald is reporting that the U.S. House subcommitee on Oversight and Investigations will take up the issue of how insurance companies have handled claims in the aftermath of Katrina. The hearings were requested by U.S. Representative Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) in a letter to committee chairman Rep. Barney Franks (D-Mass.)
Posted by admin at 05:05 PM on 02/01/07. Discuss (0)
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