BATON ROUGE — A legislative effort to strip private companies of eminent domain authority over carbon capture projects in Louisiana was defeated Tuesday in a House committee hearing, though two companion measures co-sponsored by a Vernon Parish lawmaker that would give all Louisiana parishes a direct vote on carbon sequestration projects remain alive in the Legislature.
House Bill 7, the Louisiana Landowners Protection Act authored by House Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Johnson (R-Pineville), failed 12-7 Tuesday in the House Committee on Natural Resources and Energy following a four-hour hearing packed with landowners, lobbyists and members of the public. The hearing was described as extraordinarily tense, with sharp exchanges between lawmakers and outbursts from the crowd.
HB 7 would have repealed existing statutes allowing certain carbon capture and CO2 pipeline projects to be treated as serving a public purpose, which can permit the use of eminent domain to acquire easements over private property.
Officials with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Louisiana Economic Development testified against the bill, citing concerns that limiting eminent domain authority could hinder carbon capture infrastructure development tied to industrial growth and emissions reduction efforts.
Two companion bills remain pending before the same committee. HB 5 would give the governing authority of each Louisiana parish the ability to determine whether carbon sequestration projects and CO2 pipelines may be permitted within their jurisdictions. HB 6 would extend the same local option authority specifically to Rapides Parish. Both bills are co-sponsored by Rep. Charles “Chuck” Owen (R-Hornbeck), who represents Vernon Parish and was the original author of similar legislation in prior legislative sessions.
Vernon Parish is among the parishes with active carbon capture interest. CapturePoint Solutions has proposed the Central Louisiana Regional Carbon Storage Hub spanning Rapides and Vernon parishes, one of more than 30 carbon sequestration projects currently under consideration across the state.
The 2026 legislative session continues through June 1.