(The Center Square) – Lawmakers in Louisiana voted Tuesday to approve legislation designed to shield Louisiana energy companies from future climate change litigation while leaving existing lawsuits intact, potentially signaling a victory for the state’s trial lawyers in high-stakes battle over coastal erosion lawsuits.
The “Louisiana Energy Protection Act,” or House Bill 804, sponsored by Rep. Brett Geymann, R-Lake Charles, was designed in its original form to grant state-based companies sweeping, retroactive immunity against lawsuits seeking damages from climate change.
A last-minute amendment adopted by the Senate Natural Resources Committee on last week included a grandfathering clause that would exempt lawsuits filed before the bill becomes law, clearing the way for existing litigation over coastal impacts to proceed while also protecting energy firms from future climate liability claims.
Two more amendments filed on the Senate floor Tuesday included a grandfathering clause and an exemption for lawsuits filed under the Louisiana Coastal Resources Management Act of 1978.
Senate Natural Resources Committee Chair Bob Hensgens said the amendments were agreed to with the bill’s “stakeholders” over the weekend. The bill simply prevents claims for damages from climate change or the “alleged effects from greenhouse gas emissions” from being litigated in Louisiana’s state courts, Hensgens said Tuesday before the Senate floor vote.
“This bill simply keeps our courts focused on real provable violations instead of worldwide policy debates,” said Hensgens. “The committee amendment makes this even more reasonable. It fully grandfathered all current filed lawsuits and projects in legacy cases still proceeding under the prior rules,” Hensgens said.
For some, the inclusion of the grandfathering clause represents a compromise, protecting current investments in active litigation by some of Louisiana’s biggest law firms while capping the oil and gas industry’s future liabilities.
Legal experts estimate Louisiana’s energy sector faces billions of dollars in total exposure across dozens of active lawsuits brought by parish and local governments. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month ruled 8-0 in Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish that a landmark $745 million state court verdict—valued at more than $1.1 billion with interest—must be transferred to federal court, although the underlying dispute over wetlands damage remains active.
The financial stakes have prompted criticism from conservative commentators who argue Louisiana’s political leaders are enabling the trial lawyers.
Steve Forbes, Chairman of Forbes Media, is critical of Louisiana’s top political leaders. “@LAGovJeffLandry says he backs @POTUS’s energy dominance agenda,” Forbes said on social media. “Then explain why the Gov & @AGLizMurrill are running 40+ coastal lawsuits with trial lawyers – who just teamed up with Sierra Club to protect these lawsuits,” Forbes said in the post.
Angelle Bradford, a spokesperson for Sierra Club, said the legislation is especially concerning for opponents of carbon capture and sequestration in rural parishes. “Our folks in central Louisiana are worried that this legislation will impact the ability to bring carbon capture and pipeline lawsuits — anything climate related,” Bradford said.
House Bill 804 must now return to the House floor for a concurrence vote. Rep. Geymann will decide whether to accept the Senate’s amendments or reject them and send the bill to a six-member conference committee to work out a compromise.
The bill originally passed the House on May 5 by an 83-17 vote. To concur with the Senate’s changes and send the bill directly to Gov. Jeff Landry’s desk, Geymann will need a straight majority of 53 votes in the 105-member chamber.
