BATON ROUGE - The U.S. Senate has passed a four-month reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance program.

The reauthorization protects more than 500,000 properties across Louisiana. The reauthorization ensures the program will run through the remainder of the 2018 hurricane season.

“With this extension in place, we can tackle long-term reforms. The last time we truly reformed the NFIP was never. It’s about time we did. The program needs to be affordable and sustainable," La. Senator John Kennedy said.

The legislation, entitled “The Sustainable, Affordable, Fair, and Efficient (SAFE) National Flood Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2017,” protects policyholders from excessive rate hikes.