House rejects bills authorizing local control over carbon-capture projects

Published: May 20, 2026

By: Avery White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. — A flurry of bills that would have given broader local control to carbon-capture projects failed Tuesday in a House committee.

The House Natural Resources and Environment Committee heard more than a dozen bills and almost five hours of debate and testimony on Tuesday regarding local government’s concern for carbon-capture sequestration and storage.

The failure of these bills could mark the end of this year’s battle for local control in carbon-capture projects as the end of the session looms, but the push will likely revive during next year’s session, as it has in previous years.

Several bills brought by representatives such as Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Johnson, R- Pineville, Rep. Robby Carter, D-Greensburg and Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck, sought to grant parishes more control in authorizing or prohibiting carbon capture.

“When a project affects an entire community, the community deserves a voice. The people of that community deserve a voice,” Johnson said. “This is not anti-business, it’s not anti-property rights, it’s just about respecting local self-government and allowing communities to share and to shape their own future.”