Thursday, April 19th, 2012 — A bill recently passed by Florida lawmakers could hinder the ability of some communities to participate in the federally funded flood insurance program, federal officials say. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently wrote a letter to Gov. Rick Scott detailing the provisions of House Bill 503 that could jeopardize the states participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), there are 459 communities in the state that participate in the program, representing more than two million flood policies with a total exposure of over $471 billion.