One Acadiana’s 2026 Legislative Priorities call on us to “support an all-of-the-above energy strategy, including a stable, investment-ready environment for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).” That principle has been at the center of several debates this session, and a broad coalition of statewide business and industry partners has worked to protect it.
Carbon Capture: A Coalition Win
On Tuesday, May 19, after nearly five hours of testimony, the House Natural Resources Committee rejected or involuntarily deferred a package of bills that would have replaced Louisiana’s consistent statewide CCS framework with a patchwork of parish-by-parish regulations and other restrictions. Bills defeated include HB 5 by Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Johnson (R-Pineville), which would have allowed parish governing authorities or local voters to block carbon capture projects, along with HB 6, HB 494, HB 497, HB 498, HB 501, and HB 504, companion bills that would have removed state authority over CCS permitting in favor of local options for Rapides, St. Helena, Vernon, Beauregard, Allen, and Sabine parishes.
The economic case carried the day. Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy Secretary Dustin Davidson cautioned the committee that fragmenting Louisiana’s regulatory framework could prompt the EPA to reconsider the state’s regulatory primacy over Class VI injection wells, a designation Louisiana secured in early 2024 following a two-year application process. Davidson noted that companies considering Louisiana for major energy investment “want certainty. They want to know what the timeline looks like, and it’s very possible they’ll just go to Texas or North Dakota.”
Louisiana Chemical Association President David Cresson made the same point from the industry side: “If Louisiana creates a system where projects can be approved in one parish, prohibited in another and potentially reversed through shifting local politics, companies will view that as instability. And when that happens, capital moves elsewhere.”
The vote was a meaningful win for Louisiana’s energy economy. We thank the broad coalition of business and industry partners, including LABI, the Louisiana Chemical Association, LOGA, LMOGA, and others, that has carried this fight throughout session.
Climate Liability: The Louisiana Energy Protection Act
The case for stability extends to Louisiana’s legal environment as well. HB 804 by Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles), the Louisiana Energy Protection Act, is pending final passage in the Senate after passing the House in an 83-17 bipartisan vote and clearing the Senate Natural Resources Committee this week. The bill establishes legal guardrails to prevent Louisiana from becoming the next venue for climate liability litigation, part of a national trend in which more than 30 cases have been filed against energy companies, seeking billions of dollars in damages tied to alleged climate impacts. As amended by the Senate Natural Resources Committee, the bill exempts any lawsuits for damages filed on or before its effective date.
The implications of these lawsuits would extend well beyond oil and gas companies alone. Manufacturers, farmers, truckers, chemical facilities, and many other Louisiana employers could ultimately face higher costs and stalled investment if this litigation trend takes root in Louisiana courts.
Permitting Authority: HB 595
The same principle is at the heart of HB 595 by Rep. Jacob Landry (R-Erath), which was reported favorably out of the Senate Natural Resources Committee yesterday and now heads to the Senate floor. The bill responds to delays in local permitting that have stalled state-permitted natural resource activity. Rep. Landry told the committee that operators have been waiting 60 to 75 days for responses on local road permits needed to support state-permitted operations. HB 595 establishes a 30-day “deemed approved” rule for those applications, ensuring that local inaction cannot indefinitely delay activity the state has already authorized. For companies making long-term investment decisions across Louisiana’s energy economy, predictable timelines at every level of permitting are part of the same regulatory certainty principle.
The Through-Line
Across all three issues, the message is the same. An all-of-the-above energy strategy requires a stable, investment-ready environment. Louisiana has been deliberate about positioning itself to compete for major energy investment, and protecting that position requires consistent attention to the legislation and litigation that could undermine it.
With one week remaining before sine die, One Acadiana will continue to engage with our statewide partners as these issues evolve.