In Oklahoma, that may soon change, as a bill requested by the Silver Haired Legislature and supported by AARP Oklahoma, which has more than 410,000 members and is the state’s largest organization of senior citizens, was recently passed by the state Senate.

The bill, SB-587 would allow nursing home residents to have electronic monitoring devices installed in their private rooms. As well, care facilities would be banned from denying residency to people who want their rooms monitored, or ending a resident’s contract because they choose to have authorized devices installed.

Authored by Senator Ron Justice, the bill specifies that any such devices must be paid for by the resident or their legal representative, but it also requires that all current and prospective residents (or their representatives) be made aware that electronic monitoring is now allowed.

Further, any recording created through the authorized monitoring device must be allowed as evidence in civil or criminal court or administrative proceedings.

SB-587 has now been moved to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for further discussion and an eventual vote.

UPDATE: This bill was signed into law on May 7th.

Sponsored by Republican House Speaker Andy Tobin, the bill in question is designed to move the savings that insurance companies will receive from lowered taxes into a new high tech development fund that falls under the purview of the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Under the terms of the bill, insurers will receive a credit of up to $10 million against their premium taxes in the budget year that begins on July 1st, and $20 million over the next two years for investments. Unused credits may be carried forward for up to fifteen years if companies are unable to use them in the year they are actually used.

On the same day this bill passed the house, a second tax bill that had been on track for initial approval was pulled from consideration. That bill, authored by Represenative Tom Forese, and also backed by Tobin, would have reduced the assessed property tax rate on fixtures and other personal property owned by expanding businesses that add jobs. Before leaving committee, it was amended to include a $58 million/year reduction in taxes on the self-employed.

That bill, Forese said, will require more changes before it is brought to the House floor.

In Oregon, they may not.

Early in March, the Oregon state Senate passed a bill that would create a mediation process for patients who are injured by medical mistakes.

In a vote of 26-for to 3-against, the bill passed the Senate, though some members of the legislature criticized it, saying it should have included language limiting the amount of money that juries would be allowed to award to patients who were subject to injuries caused by medical errors.

Specifically, the new legislation would give injured patients a means to have confidential discussions about the medical mistakes that affected them, as well as about any possible settlements from the medical facility where the mistake occurred.

Supporters of the measure believe that it’s enactment would help reduce the culture of defense that keeps doctors from actually discussing their errors, and even learning from them, because they’re afraid of possible litigation.

The above-referenced issue with settlement limits, however, is not the only criticism the legislation is facing. Opponents of the measure are concerned that passing it will have no effect on the cost of medical liability insurance.

Nevertheless, the supporters of the measure include both doctors’ organization and Oregon trial attorneys.

The Medical Mistakes Measure was sent to the Oregon House of Representative for further discussion, and a House vote. If that chamber approves of the legislation, it will be passed to the Governor for signature or veto.

Critics say the measure won’t do anything to reduce premiums for medical liability insurance.

The measure goes next to the House. It’s supported by both trial lawyers and doctors groups.

Specifically, the state legislature’s Transportation and Telecommunications Committee will hear three measures:

1. Senator John Harms has proposed a bill that would allow police to stop any motorist who is not wearing a seat belt. At present, Nebraska is one of only 18 states where lack of a safety belt is only a secondary offense, which means motorists can only be cited for violations if they’re stopped for another reason. In addition to making lack of a seat belt a primary offense, this bill would increase the current $25 fine for such an infraction to $100, and add a point to the driver’s record, which could lead to insurance rate increases. The fine would apply to all drivers and their passengers.
2. Senator Bob Krist has introduced further safety belt law, requiring that all passengers wear seat belts, and making the lack of one a primary offense, even for back-seat passengers. This means that police could pull over a car if a child in the back seat wasn’t correctly buckled in.
3. The third bill in question, also sponsored by Senator Harms, would make texting while driving a primary offense (it’s currently a secondary infraction), though some people object on the grounds it might lead to pulling over too many young people and/or minorities. As well, police officers have argued that even as a secondary offense texting behind the wheel is difficult to enforce.

All three proposals were inspired by the fact that there were 211 traffic deaths in Nebraska last year, as opposed to only 181 in 2011. Last year was also the first year that number had increased in several years.

So far in 2013, there have been 29 traffic deaths in Nebraska.

Less common is for state regulatory agencies to embrace the growing trend toward mobile-user friendliness, but with its recently re-launched website that agency in charge of regulating the insurance industry for the state of Washington has done just that.

The website, which can be found at www.insurance.wa.gov, has been revamped to make navigation and use simpler for consumers and insurance professionals alike, a decision based in part on the fact that only 33 percent of users could actually complete normal insurance-related tasks with any accuracy on the old version of the site.

According to a statement to the press made by Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, “When people have insurance problems, they want information fast. They have limited time, and they may be on a smart phone or other device. We want to make it easy for them.”

With the new design, say representatives of Kreidler’s office, the ability to successfully complete tasks on the site has improved to 80% with the new format, which includes the afore-mentioned changes to navigation, as well as a look and feel that are meant to be more inviting.

During the rest of this year, even more changes, including more tweaks to aid mobile users, will be added. Already, one of the mobile-friendly design changes is the use of responsive technology which automatically detects the screen resolution of the device being used to access the site, and adapts to it, feeding back the best display – this means that smartphone users will have a better chance to see the entire page, instead of just select portions.

The push to be better-accessible for mobile-device users is just one part of an ongoing campaign to make Washington’s insurance industry more tech-savvy in general. Already, consumer complaints and questions are handled online, as are the licensing processes for agents and brokers.

The reality is that PTSD can happen to anyone who has been through a traumatic situation. One group of likely sufferers is comprised of emergency first responders – the men and women of local police, fire and paramedic departments who are first on the scene when a disaster takes place.

While there have been many issues following in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, one positive outcome is that Connecticut state senator Cathy Osten (D), the co-chairperson of the state’s Labor and Public Employees Committee, has announced that her panel will be sponsoring a new bill within the next few weeks.

According to Senator Osten, the bill to be introduced will allow emergency first responders to file claims for post-traumatic stress disorder as part of their existing workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

The bill has already garnered public favor. Newtown’s Board of Police Commissioners is just one organization asking the state legislature to broaden existing workers’ compensation coverage to provide benefits to police officers, fire fighters, and other who show signs of PTSD because of their “heroic efforts,” while on the job.

Members of the board have shared that some of the officers who responded to the Sandy Hook shooting are now too traumatized to do their jobs, and have been using all of their available sick time, and relying on donations in order to cover their salaries.

There is no official word on when the bill will be announced, but once the committee sends it to the senate floor, the Connecticut House of Representatives will still have to approve it before it can be voted into law.

In most states, workers’ compensation insurance coverage is limited to physical injuries that occur while employees are at work.

The brands affected, all commercial lines, are America First Insurance, Colorado Casualty, Golden Eagle Insurance, Indiana Insurance, Liberty Northwest, Montgomery Insurance, Ohio Casualty, and Peerless Insurance, each of which represents its own region, and none of which does business in more than nine states.

Why retire these names? According to Goetchus, it’s because Liberty Mutual agents wanted to be able to use the more recognizable name of the parent company. Even so, he stressed, each region will retain its own local offices and underwriting authority, as well as its own management structure. Only the names are changing.

Safeco Insurance, another Liberty Mutual company, is not being affected by this decision, and will continue to offer personal insurance product lines under its existing brand, sold by independent insurance agents around the country.

Last year, 2012, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol, that law was enforced to the tune of roughly 12,000 tickets being written for cellphone misuse.

Most of those drivers, state officials say, were receiving only their first citation, while thirty of them were second-time ticketees, and another 25 were being cited for a third time.

Under the strictures of a ban, first offenses carry a fine of $112, with the fine escalating to $192 for a second citation and $352 for a third (or more) violation of the law. As well, repeat offenders rack up points on their driving records, which, in turn, will adversely affect their auto insurance premiums.

How does a driver avoid being cited for using their cellphone while driving? Nevada state troopers recommend avoiding the use of any phone or texting device while driving, or, if that’s not possible, switching to hands free operation of the phone.

California was actually one of two states to receive grants for such high-visibility campaigns to curb the use of hand-held cell phone use (including both texting AND talking) while operating a motor vehicle, the Sacramento Bee reports. The other state was Delaware.

California’s program was conducted in eight counties with a total resident population of almost 4 million. The pre-Christmas crackdown was the first of three maximum enforcement periods included in the campaign. The next one is scheduled to take place from February 25 to March 10.

Maximum enforcement generally includes tickets as well as points on your drivers license, so if you’re caught misusing your cellphone during one of these periods, expect to see slightly higher auto insurance rates as a result.