Legislative leaders skeptical of carbon capture local control bills
BATON ROUGE — State Senate President Cameron Henry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier expressed concern Monday about a spate of bills that might give communities veto power over carbon capture projects in their areas.
The push for a local option follows growing concerns of residents, landowners and environmentalists in Louisiana about the possible health implications of having the carbon capture and storage projects nearby.
Carbon capture is the process of capturing carbon dioxide at emission sources, transporting it and then storing or burying it in a deep, underground location.
DeVillier, R-Eunice, said more than 20 bills have been filed in the House that he would consider “anti-carbon capture.” DeVillier said he wants to ensure that the new technology is handled safely but also in accordance with guidance from the Supreme Court, “that says states nor local governments should interfere with interstate commerce. I mean, that is exactly what local option is,” he said.
Henry, R-Metairie, said “when you’re talking about an industry that’s going to come in and change not only a parish but could possibly change the face of Louisiana, I think having a group of five people go in and say, ‘Under no circumstances will I ever allow this here,’ that’s not practical,” Henry said.
The lawmakers made those comments at a lunch at the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday.
Looking ahead to the legislative session that begins next week, Henry said that he thinks the state should study how well Gov. Jeff Landry’s private-school voucher program, called LA Gator, is working for a year or two before considering whether to sharply increase spending on it, as Landry wants to do.
He said if the state remains disciplined about spending, the Legislature might be able to vote in its 2027 session to reduce the new flat personal income tax rate by an additional 0.5 to 2.5 percent.
Henry said a task force he created last year has been trying to learn more about how much consumers in Louisiana might end up paying toward utility plants needed to supply the enormous amounts of power at Meta and Amazon data centers planned for north Louisiana.
He and DeVillier also said if voters are confused by the new closed party primary in some of this year’s elections, the Legislature might revisit that later.
Henry and DeVillier emphasized the importance of carbon capture as a growing industry necessary to help bolster the state in global competition and attract new industry.
“Everybody in Louisiana supports change, they just don’t want anything to be different,” said Henry. “Something has to be different than what you were doing last year or the year before, and if you don’t support the difference part, then don’t ask for the change because you have to have both.”
Companies have proposed at least 65 carbon capture and storage projects in select parishes in Louisiana, which is the most of any other state, according to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project. Most of the more than 20 bills in the House propose some degree of local control over the development of these projects.
But Henry said there needs to be “a happy medium.”
"There is ‘a lot of the new industry that we’re trying to attract into Louisiana,’ ” he said, and “carbon capture is a part of that.”
The LA GATOR program remains contentious as Henry continues to oppose an increase in funding for such a new program without more evidence of its effectiveness. LA GATOR has only been around for a year, and Landry wants to double the budget for it.
It is rare to start doubling funding for a program so quickly, Henry said.
“Doubling a program every year’s going to be a problem for us financially because at some point in time you have to figure out when you are going to stop doubling it,” said Henry.
A similar program passed before LA GATOR that allowed for eligible students to redeem school vouchers failed to work properly, leading to adjustments. That voucher program was pushed by the same groups pushing for LA GATOR, he said.
“I think it’s important for us to take a step back and see what is actually working,” Henry said. “So, let's wait a year or two to see if this program works, and then we can move forward with stats that show that it’s actually working.”
Henry said if the Legislature could vote in 2027 to reduce income tax by another 0.5 percent, that would reduce state revenue by $500 million.
He said lawmakers have to keep in mind a provision already passed to reduce the state’s portion of the sales tax in 2030 from 5 to 4.75 percent as it tries to maintain services.
“Those things you can’t adjust on the fly,” Henry said. “You really have to plan three or four years out to make sure that we’ll actually be able to lower that sales tax as we promised our consumers.”
Over $100 billion of new investments have been attracted to the state, bringing in industries like AI data centers. A major concern surrounding the new AI data centers in Bossier, Caddo, Richland and West Feliciana parishes is the use of power — particularly, who is footing the bill for these industries.
When a power company like Entergy makes an upgrade, such as building new power plants to serve new customers, they are allowed to pass some of those costs onto consumers. They also are allowed up to a 10 percent return on that investment.
“If you think about it just for a second, they get a 10 percent return on investing your money. You don’t,” said Henry.
The environmental impact is also a concern to residents, as the data centers are going to consume a large amount of power and water.
According to Henry, the point of the task force is not to attack the power companies or the Public Service Commission, which regulates them. He said the task force wants to understand exactly how power is paid for in Louisiana and bring all the parties together to make adjustments if needed.
“For us to be able to compete globally, we have to embrace the policies today that help the businesses here grow and the ones that are coming succeed,” said DeVillier.
The task force will continue for the next year to help decide what changes need to be made to benefit Louisiana and who will be responsible for those changes.
Landry pushed lawmakers earlier to implement a closed primary system for federal and statewide races.
That means the voters who are registered with one party cannot cross over and vote in primary elections for candidates in another party. Political analysts say the change was made largely to give more conservative Republicans an advantage over more moderate ones.
Henry said that if the new voting system turns out to be “breathtakingly confusing” to voters, the Legislature could adjust it later.
