Week 1
Update (4/14/2023): And it begins. The House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment will hear Speaker Schexnayder's House Bill 571 on CCS next Thursday, April 20 at 9:30 am. HB 571 would make comprehensive changes to the CCS statutes, including notice provisions to local authorities, allocation of funds to local authorities, and increased financial and regulatory requirements on operators. Being the Speaker's bill, one might expect it to pass the committee although CCS as a whole is sure to garner significant discussion. The other eight house bills on CCS will be scheduled at a later date.
Original Update (4/11/2023): The Louisiana Legislative Session for 2023 officially began at noon yesterday (April 10), with the House of Representatives referring all nine bills involving Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment after one bill was re-directed. These bills have potentially far-reaching implications for CCS projects. In addition to targeting CCS projects in specific areas, the bills also have statewide implications by seeking to either eliminate or place significant hurdles on CCS development.
HB 312, proposed by Representative Carter — which would remove the statutory cap for liability claims against CCS entities and impose strict liability for all damages – was initially provisionally referred to the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure Committee when it was pre-flied on March 29. This week, the House re-directed that bill to the Natural Resources Committee, so all House bills are now pending before the same committee. The Senate referred its only bill relating to CCS, SB 141 by Chairman Hensgens of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, to his committee. The first committee meetings are expected next week.
Liskow will share regular updates throughout the Louisiana Legislative Session about CCS legislation on this blog and our website.
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