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Questions about the cost of a bill that would quash local government lawsuits against oil and gas companies led to questions Tuesday about how legislative staff go about estimating how much any bill might cost the state.
Senate Bill 359 by Sen. Bob Hensgens, an Abbeville Republican, would establish that state government under a 1978 law has sole authority to issue and enforce permits for oil and gas exploration in the state’s coastal zone. The bill would kill an effort by parish governments to sue oil companies for allegedly violating their permits and damaging coastal wetlands.
State officials still could continue the lawsuits as the primary plaintiffs with jurisdiction over “uses of state concern.” So if the lawsuits continue, would the state incur additional costs? That question brought the bill to the Senate Finance Comm-ittee Tuesday, even though the body’s Natural Resources Committee already has approved it.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Bill Stiles said he didn’t think bringing the lawsuits would lead to additional costs for the state, adding that the office would not have to hire new staff or buy new equipment. But he said sometimes additional costs are not anticipated despite his office’s best efforts.
“I couldn’t tell you that we foresee everything that’s foreseeable when we provide these fiscal notes,” he said, referring to the notes the Legislative Fiscal Office creates for bills that might impact the state’s bottom line.
But the LFO attached a fiscal note stating the state could see “a significant increase of expenditures” if it assumed the costs of any of the 42 ongoing parish lawsuits. That belief was based in part on a public statement by one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys that litigation for two of the cases had cost about $9 million so far.
“That calls into question the fiscal note,” said state Sen. Cameron Henry, a Metairie Republican. “Your base assumption [about the cost] came from the people who don’t like the bill. So for every single note moving forward, that is my concern.”
But Rebecca Robinson, the LFO staffer who prepared the note, said she also consulted with the state Department of Natural Resources, a party to the lawsuits, to determine moving forward could cost the state $100,000 annually at a minimum.
“The future costs of litigating these lawsuits is indeterminable at this time but likely to be significant,” her note says. “Alternatively, there would be no impact should the [Attorney General] or DNR choose not to continue prosecuting any of the ongoing litigation.”
Henry’s comments questioning the accuracy of fiscal notes are reminiscent of statements Rep. Tony Bacala, a Prairieville Republican, made in March.
“It looks like on occasion [state agencies] weaponize the fiscal note in order to impact the outcome of the bill passage,” Bacala said.
Senate Bill 359 was slated for debate by the full Senate Monday but was diverted so Senate Finance could review the fiscal note. The committee on Tuesday advanced the bill back to the full body.
Also on Tuesday, the finance committee approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 65 by Sen. Heather Cloud, R-Turkey Creek. The resolution calls for taking $200 million of the state’s $1.8 billion allocation from the federal CARES Act for COVID-19 relief to provide grants to small businesses affected by the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CARES Act calls for sharing up to 45 percent of the money with local governments. Under her proposal, $100 million would come out of the state’s portion, $100 million from the anticipated local portion; and $25 million split evenly between the state and local share would be reserved for woman- and minority-owned businesses.
As explained by Senate President Page Cortez, her measure would not carry the force of law, but it allows lawmakers to express their opinion on the concept, which could later find its way into an appropriations bill

Frances M. Daugherty, 75, a native of Oberlin and resident of Berwick, died Thursday, May 14, 2020, at Patterson Healthcare Center.
She is survived by a sister, Mary Bellard, and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by two husbands, parents, a sister and a brother.
Visitation and services will be held privately. Burial will be in Morgan City Cemetery.
Ibert’s Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Tammy Louise Moore James, 56, a native of Algiers and resident of Bayou Vista, died Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at Ochsner Medical Center in Jefferson.
In an effort to comply with CDC recommendations, a private service will be held with invited guests only. Interment will be private. Services will be accessible by viewing the Jones Funeral Home Facebook Page at 1 p.m. Thursday.
She is survived by her children, Angelica Verdun of Verdunville, and Darrell Riggins, Grace Riggins, Kyle Riggins, Reginald James, Amber James and De’Angela James, all of Morgan City; grandchildren; siblings, Eric Ranking Sr. of Marrero, Worcester Johnson Jr., Shirlene Brown, Deirdre Jones, La Tyra Jones and Nicole Jones, all of New Orleans, and Shawn Carr-Louis of Dallas; and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by her husband and parents.
Jones funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The end of the regular session, a conclusion slated for less than two weeks from now, will in no way, shape or form close the door on legislative politics for this calendar year. In fact, there’s more (much more) politics to come, and rather soon.
As lawmakers are making plans for their first special session of the year — it will likely convene almost immediately upon the regular session’s adjournment — qualifying is also kicking off for the first special legislative election of 2020 in the Terrebonne-Lafourche region. Plus, another special legislative election may be on tap in Calcasieu Parish during the fall or winter, and that race in particular could have serious ramifications for the Capitol.
Even those who closely track legislative races were taken by surprise this week when they realized that qualifying for the special election in the Terrebonne-Lafourche region was commencing. It will run from May 20 to May 22.
That’s the race to replace state Rep. Reggie Bagala in House District 54. The late Houma Republican, of course, held the distinction of being the only sitting Louisiana legislator to pass away from COVID-19. The special election is slated for July 11, alongside the presidential preference primary, and it will be the first special legislative election of the current term.
Jimmy Cantrell, the son of the former Lafourche Parish president by the same name, is said to be looking at the race. So are Joseph A. Orgeron, an adjunct professor at Nicholls State University and a businessman with a foot in wind energy, and Phil Gilligan, a boat asset appraiser. Bagala won 58 percent of the vote last fall against fellow Republicans Donny Lerille (26 percent) and Ernest Boudreaux (16 percent).
State Rep. Stephen Dwight, a Republican from Lake Charles, confirmed last week that he intends to be a candidate for district attorney in the 14th Judicial District on the Nov. 3 ballot. Back home, Dwight is the heavy favorite, according to local politicos, which would set up a completely different — and equally important — set of dominoes in the state House.
Dwight, as chairman of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, is positioned to lead next year’s decennial redistricting process, when election lines will be redrawn based on U.S. Census findings. If he’s elected district attorney, not only will the House need another special election (possibly the second of the year), but the body will also require another chairman for what is arguably the most important task of the term.
District Attorney John DeRosier recently announced his retirement to voters, saying in a prepared statement that “this world-wide pandemic has caused me to take stock of what’s really important in life.” When DeRosier last appeared on a ballot in 2016, when he defeated fellow Republican Christian D. Chesson with 57 percent of the vote.
Should there be a special election in House District 35 later this year, already former Rep. Brett Geymann has indicated he would be interested and is working with consultant Lionel Rainey.
Not to be outdone on specialness front, the entire Legislature is also staring down the barrel of a special session. Charged with advising the House and Senate on policy avenues to lead the state out of pandemic mode, the Louisiana Legislative Advisory Task Force on Economic Recovery is expected to start spitting out ideas this week for the forthcoming special session agenda.
While the announcement of those ideas is imminent, it’s still unknown whether the Legislature will need one or two special sessions this calendar year. The budget is unlikely to pass before the regular session ends on June 1, and the completion of that spending plan will most certainly require a special session. But the economic development issues being tackled by the task force may or may not need an additional special session as well.
There are a variety of economic development needs that could make it on a call, including topics related to sales taxes and property taxes, especially with 2020 being a reassessment year. Income taxes may be on the agenda, too, according to sources — particularly with Congress considering tax provisions in the latest version of the CARES Act. For the state to take full advantage of those assumed changes, alterations will have to be made in the Legislature as well.
Needless to say, these are indeed special times for those plying trades inside Capitoland. Whether or not everyone still feels special when it’s all said and done is an entirely different question.
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