HB 840

HLS 26RS-514  ORIGINAL
 2026 Regular Session
 HOUSE BILL NO. 840
 BY REPRESENTATIVE FARNUM
 ENERGY: Estalishes notice and public hearing requirements prior to issuance of orders,
  permits, or certificates for carbon dioxide sequestration
1AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 30:1105(B), (C), and (D) and 1107(A)(1), (B)(introductory
3paragraph), and (D), and to enact R.S. 30:1105(E), relative to notice and public
4hearings; to require public comments be received in parishes affected by carbon
5capture operations prior to issuance of any order, permit, or certificate; to add a
6notice and opportunity for public comments prior to the issuance of certificates of
7public convenience and necessity; and to provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9Section 1.    R.S. 30:1105(B), (C), and (D) and 1107(A)(1), (B)(introductory
10 paragraph), and (D) are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 30:1105(E) is hereby
11 amended and reenacted to read as follows:
12§1105. Hearings; notice; public records
13*       *  *
14B.(1) In addition to the requirements contained in Subsection A of this
15Section, no order, permit, or certificate shall be issued by the secretary under this
16Chapter without first providing notice to the governing authority of any parish
17affected and a public hearing is conducted to receive public comments. Notice may
18be made by electronic mail to the parish president, police jury president, or
19mayor-president, depending on the form of parish government.
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 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
 are additions.
 HLS 26RS-514  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 840
1(2) A hearing to receive public comment shall be held in every parish in
2which a pipeline for the transport of carbon dioxide is to be constructed.
3B. C. All rules, regulations, and orders made by the commissioner secretary
4under this Chapter shall be in writing and shall be entered in full by him in a book
5kept for that purpose. This book shall be a public record and shall be open for
6inspection at all times during reasonable office hours and shall be available on the
7Department of Conservation and Energy website. A copy of a rule, regulation, or
8order certified by the commissioner secretary shall be received in evidence in all
9courts of this state with the same effect as the original.
10C. D. Any interested person has the right to have the commissioner secretary
11call a hearing for the purpose of taking action in respect to a matter within the
12jurisdiction of the commissioner secretary as provided in this Section Chapter by
13making a request therefor in writing and paying the hearing fee set by the
14commissioner secretary, as provided by law for a hearing conducted pursuant to R.S.
1530:6. Upon receiving the request and payment of the required fees the commissioner
16secretary shall promptly call a hearing. After the hearing and with all convenient
17speed and within thirty days after the conclusion of the hearing, the commissioner
18secretary shall take whatever action he deems appropriate with regard to the subject
19matter.
20D. E. The commissioner secretary shall give substantial consideration to
21local government comments, oral or written, when determining the appropriate
22course of action to take in any matter requiring a public comment period or public
23hearing pursuant to this Chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this Chapter.
24*       *  *
25§1107. Certificates of public convenience and necessity; certificate of completion
26of injection operations
27A.(1) The secretary shall issue a certificate of public convenience and
28necessity or a certificate of completion of injection operations to each person
29applying therefor if, after notice is given and a public hearing is held pursuant to the
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 HLS 26RS-514  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 840
1provisions of R.S. 30:6 R.S. 30:1105 held in the parish where the storage facility is
2to be located, the secretary determines that it is required by the present or future
3public convenience and necessity, and such decision is based upon the following
4criteria:
5*       *  *
6B. The secretary may issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity
7to a transporter of carbon dioxide applying therefor, whether or not such transporter
8is also the storage operator, for the laying, maintaining, and operating of a pipeline
9for the transportation of carbon dioxide to a storage facility, and such rights
10necessary and incidental thereto if, after notice and opportunity for a public hearing
11pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 30:6 R.S. 30:1105, the secretary determines that
12it is or will be in the present or future public interest to do so and finds one of the
13following:
14*       *  *
15D.   The secretary shall issue a certificate of completion of injection
16operations to the operator applying therefor if, after notice and opportunity for a
17public hearing pursuant to R.S. 30:6 R.S. 30:1105, it is determined that such operator
18has met all of the conditions required for such certificate, including the requirements
19of R.S. 30:1109.
20*       *  *
  DIGEST
 The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
 of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
 part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
 HB 840 Original  2026 Regular Session  Farnum
 Abstract: Requires a hearing be held to receive public comments in parishes affected by
  carbon capture operations prior to issuance of any order, permit, or certificate. Adds
  a requirement for notice and opportunity for public comments prior to the issuance
  of certificates of public convenience and necessity.
 Present law requires notice and public hearings mandated under present law (Chapter 11)
 to be conducted according to present law (R.S. 30:6) which provides the opportunity for
 specific parties of interest to participate in public hearings and notice to be provided to
 parishes affected.
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HLS 26RS-514  ORIGINAL
  HB NO. 840
Proposed law adds a requirement for a public hearing opportunity to receive public comment
from all interested parties within the parishes affected.
Proposed law requires that a hearing for public comment be held in every parish in which
a pipeline for the transport of carbon dioxide will be constructed.
Present law requires that notice and opportunity for a hearing under present law (R.S. 30:6)
be provided prior to issuance by the secretary of a certificate of public convenience and
necessity.
Proposed law adds the requirement for a public hearing opportunity to receive public
comment from all interested parties within the parishes affected be provided prior to
issuance by the secretary of a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
Present law requires that notice and opportunity for a hearing under present law (R.S. 30:6)
be provided prior to issuance by the secretary of a certificate of completion of injection
operations.
Proposed law adds the requirement for a public hearing opportunity to receive public
comment from all interested parties within the parishes affected be provided prior to
issuance by the secretary of a certificate of completion of injection operations.
(Amends R.S. 30:1105(B), (C), and (D) and 1107(A)(1), (B)(intro. para.), and (D); Adds
R.S. 30:1105(E))
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.