The recent legislative session has been a popular topic of discussion for think tanks and reform groups in Louisiana, as there was a number of both good and bad bills alike that were killed and passed.
According to an article in AmericanPress.com by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the auto insurance issue remains unresolved as H.B. 372 was unable to pass the Senate Judiciary A Committee; had it been passed, there would have been a number of changes to the way in which auto insurance lawsuits proceed.
H.B. 578 passed, however, which will provide almost $700 million in road projects in the state without the need for an increase in taxes. Another bill that passed was H.B. 575, which will benefit smaller communities by forming a framework for ride-share services like Uber and Lyft.
One wish list item is S.B. 198; Gov. John Bel Edwards has not made it clear whether or not he will sign it, but the bill would require the Department of Revenue to return tax dollars if a tax law were discovered to be unconstitutional.
The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association was pleased with the passage of bills they hope will benefit the state’s economy, but there is always room for improvement.
“There were several bills passed this session LMOGA was happy to see pass, including bills related to the regulation of pipelines, the order of tax credits, and infrastructure improvements,” Tyler Gray, LMOGA president and general counsel, told Louisiana Record. “Did all of LMOGA’s policy recommendations pass? No, but hopefully we can keep the conversation going. It’s important to remember competitiveness in the oil and gas industry is constantly evolving and Louisiana needs to keep up.”
As of now, the bills passed will give the state some much-needed help in areas that have previously been deprioritized, but LMOGA remains hopeful that more reform is around the corner.
“With these changes, LMOGA will continue to stay on top of potential improvements and make recommendations to move Louisiana forward,” Gray said.