A federal district court judge in Mississippi appears to be setting the stage for a prompt decision on whether soaring federal flood insurance premium rate hikes should be stayed pending completion of a study as to whether those hikes are affordable.

In a three-page decision, Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., chief judge of the Federal District Court in Gulfport, Miss., late Monday rejected the effort of a Mississippi county to intervene in a lawsuit filed by the state insurance commissioner, Michael Chaney, in October.

Guirola said he believes the state insurance commissioner is "adequately" representing the needs of the state regarding the affordability issue, and that it is not necessary for Harrison County intervene in the lawsuit.

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