After two action-packed weeks at the Capitol, Louisiana lawmakers continued to vote down bills this week on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), but did advance a few CCS bills out of committee.

The House Committee on Ways & Means heard and handled the following bill:

• HB 444 (Mack) which seeks to impose a $3/per metric ton injection tax on CCS projects and dedicate the money to local governments. The Committee deferred ruling on the bill.

The House Committee on Natural Resources & Environment also heard and handled the following bills:

• HB 75 (McCormick) which provides for pore space owners who are unitized to receive the highest compensation paid to any other pore space owner. 
  • Passed favorable but after significant amendments. The bill was amended to provide a pore space owner who is unitized into a CCS project with compensation which is at least the average of the amounts contractually provided to other pore space owners. The bill was also amended to require CCS operators to compensate mineral rights owners in a unit who do not have pore space agreements with the storage operator with either the value of the lost mineral rights or any additional expenses required by LDENR to drill through the storage unit to access the minerals.
• HB 304 (Carter) which provides for local venue for claims involving expropriation for carbon capture sequestration.
  • Passed favorable. Existing law already provides for local venue within the state’s general expropriation statute, so this bill appears to simply re-state existing law within the CCS statute itself.
• HB 396 (McCormick) which declares carbon capture sequestration illegal
  • Did not pass.
• HB 548 (Lacombe) which provides for dedication of revenue to local governments on carbon capture sequestration on certain state lands and water bottoms
  • Passed favorably.
• HB 585 (McCormick) which requires advance notice to surface and minerals owners prior to permitting carbon capture sequestration
  • Did not pass.
• HB 632 (Riser) which treats mineral rights owners in the same capacity as surface owners for purposes of carbon capture sequestration
  • Did not pass but may come back for hearing next week.
• HB 601 (Geymann) which seeks to eliminate the use of eminent domain for CCS pipelines
  • Passed favorably. Chairman Geymann’s bill was added back to the agenda the day before the committee hearing. HB 601 was heard in committee last week and tied on a 8-8 vote. This week HB 601 passed committee on a 11-4 vote. Based on comments made during the meeting, the bill appears to have advanced out of committee with the understanding that the bill will be amended on the House floor. Stay tuned on amendment discussions.

Next week, the following bills are scheduled to be heard in the House Committee on Ways & Means:

• HB 444 (Mack) which seeks to impose an injection tax on CCS projects is back on the agenda for Monday, May 12 at 9:00 a.m. It is anticipated that the bill will be amended to reduce the current assessment in the bill from $3/per metric ton to a lower number.  Stay tuned.
• HB 646 (Carter) which seeks to impose an excise tax on CCS projects, at a rate of 30% of a storage operator’s gross proceeds, is scheduled for on Tuesday, May 13 at 9:00 a.m.  HB 646 will likely take a back seat to HB 444, as HB 444 is expected to be the bill which may advance on the issue of taxing CCS projects.

Four local option bills on CCS remain pending in the House Committee on Municipal, Parochial, and Cultural Affairs. Two of those four bills are currently scheduled to be heard on May 15 at 9:00 a.m.

While the House Committee on Natural Resources & Environment appears to be done with bills on CCS, and it is unlikely more bills will be scheduled, the committee has not posted its schedule for next week.

Follow along Liskow attorney and Louisiana lobbyist Neil Abramson and Liskow CCS attorney Jeff Lieberman as they continue to monitor for these schedule and bill updates on the 2025 Liskow CCS Legislative Update page.