The implications of a federal law on flood insurance rates will be the topic of an upcoming hearing in Harrisburg.
A 2012 law designed to make property owners pay for the risk of living in high flood hazard areas has resulted in swift increases to flood insurance premiums.
Republican state Sen. Gene Yaw of Lycoming County said it’s likely many Pennsylvanians living near a river have already seen the higher rates.
"For example, where people may have been paying eight or 900 dollars a year for flood insurance, all of a sudden, they were getting premiums that were a thousand dollars a month," he said. "And this affects the area, any area, low-lying area that’s in a floodplain."
Federal lawmakers are considering legislation to delay parts of the law causing the spike in insurance rates.
Yaw said research shows the issue affects every single county in Pennsylvania.
