“It is disappointing that some elected officials have sided with plaintiffs’ attorneys in support of job-killing lawsuits and a flawed settlement scheme that could put our coast further at risk. Through these lawsuits, the government seeks to impose sweeping, retroactive liability on the entire oil and gas industry for activities carried out according to federal laws and regulations decades ago. This misguided attempt to rewrite history and penalize energy producers for legally conducted operations that have been endorsed and incentivized by state and local leaders for nearly a century is a distortion of the law dreamed up and marketed by plaintiffs’ attorneys, presumably to serve their own financial gain.

These moratoriums intended to regulate American oil and gas companies out of business backfire by burdening main street and households everywhere. "Now more than ever people cannot afford heightened energy costs,” Mike Moncla, LOGA Interim President said. "A better approach would be to support the recovery with sustainable policies that benefit struggling Americans with affordable, reliable, American energy."

The Louisiana Oil & Gas Association has read your legislative report and recommendation to change the tax rate for natural gas. While we appreciate the work you’ve undertaken to provide data from the LSU Center for Energy Studies, we do not agree with the conclusions the report draws regarding changing the tax rate.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Louisiana moved up a spot from last year, ranking as the fourth-worst Judicial Hellhole in the U.S. The report highlights the worst local courts and states for abuses of the civil justice system, with the top 10 Judicial Hellholes filled with widespread civil lawsuits, legislative loopholes that create more ways for lawyers to sue, and judges who allow junk science into evidence in trials. Judicial Hellholes have civil justice climates that allow abuse and starkly contrast the rest of the nation. Judicial Hellholes swing open the door for trial lawyers to sue for more money over more issues.