HB79 • 2026

CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release

Energy

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Robert Carter
Last action: 2026-06-02
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 614
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release

What This Bill Does

CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Summary of Senate Amendments to HB79

Filed

Plain English: SSHB79 4747 6131 HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS HB 79 2026 Regular Session Robby Carter CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release Synopsis of Senate Amendments 1.

SSHB79 4747 6131 HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS HB 79 2026 Regular Session Robby Carter CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release Synopsis of Senate Amendments 1.
Retains proposed law that removes the damage cap as a result of carbon capture release and storage.
Digest of Bill as Finally Passed by Senate Present law provides for civil liability actions against owners and operators of carbon dioxide storage facilities and carbon dioxide transmission pipelines and generators of the carbon dioxide being transported or stored by a facility or pipeline with the general limit on compensatory damages for noneconomic losses at $250,000 per person and the limit for exceptional cases at $500,000 per person.
Present law also provides the maximum amount recoverable for noneconomic losses at $1 million per person in the event the liability limits under present law are found to be unconstitutional.

House Vote on HB 79 CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS (#1661)

Filed

Plain English: 2026 Regular Session Sequence: 1661 HBS AMENDED BY SENATE TO BE CONCURRED IN HB 79 BY CARTER, R.

2026 Regular Session Sequence: 1661 HBS AMENDED BY SENATE TO BE CONCURRED IN HB 79 BY CARTER, R.
CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS Date: 5/29/2026 Time: 10:46:19 AM ROLL CALL The roll was called with the following result: YEAS Mr.
Speaker Adams Amedee Bacala Bamburg Beaullieu Berault Billings Boudreaux Bourriaque Boyer Braud Broussard Butler Carlson Carrier Carter, R.
Carver Chenevert Coates Cox Crews Deshotel Dewitt Dickerson Domangue Echols Edmonston Egan Farnum Firment Fisher Fontenot Freiberg Gadberry Galle Geymann Glorioso Green Hebert Henry, C.

Senate Floor Amendment #4396 Miller G. Proposed

Filed

Plain English: SFAHB79 2810 4396 SENATE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senator Miller to Engrossed House Bill No.

SFAHB79 2810 4396 SENATE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senator Miller to Engrossed House Bill No.
79 by Representative Robby Carter 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 Delete the set of Senate Committee Amendments proposed by the Senate Committee on 3 Judiciary A and adopted by the Senate on May 20, 2026.
Page 1 of 1

Senate Committee Amendment #4053 JUDA Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: SCAHB79 4335 4053 SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senate Committee on Judiciary A to Engrossed House Bill No.

SCAHB79 4335 4053 SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senate Committee on Judiciary A to Engrossed House Bill No.
79 by Representative Robby Carter 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 1, delete lines 11 through 19, and insert the following: 3 "B.(1) In any civil liability action against the owner or operator of a storage 4 facility, carbon dioxide transmission pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide 5 being handled by either the facility or pipeline, the maximum amount recoverable 6 as compensatory damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed two hundred fifty 7 thousand dollars per person, except where the damages for noneconomic loss 8 suffered by the plaintiff were for wrongful death; permanent and substantial physical 9 deformity; loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ system; or permanent 10 physical or mental functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person 11 from being able to independently care for himself or herself and perform life- 12 sustaining activities." 13 AMENDMENT NO.
2 14 On page 1, line 20, delete "sustaining activities." Page 1 of 1

Senate Committee Amendment #3979 JUDA Draft

Draft

Plain English: SCAHB79 4335 3979 SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senate Committee on Judiciary A to Engrossed House Bill No.

SCAHB79 4335 3979 SENATE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senate Committee on Judiciary A to Engrossed House Bill No.
79 by Representative Robby Carter 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 1, delete lines 11 through 19, and insert the following: 3 "B.(1) In any civil liability action against the owner or operator of a storage 4 facility, carbon dioxide transmission pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide 5 being handled by either the facility or pipeline, the maximum amount recoverable 6 as compensatory damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed two hundred fifty 7 thousand dollars per person, except where the damages for noneconomic loss 8 suffered by the plaintiff were for wrongful death; permanent and substantial physical 9 deformity; loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ system; or permanent 10 physical or mental functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person 11 from being able to independently care for himself or herself and perform life- 12 sustaining activities." 13 AMENDMENT NO.
2 14 On page 1, line 20, delete "sustaining activities." Page 1 of 1

Bill History

2026-06-02 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-06-02 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 614.
2026-06-01 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-06-01 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-31 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-29 H
Read by title, roll called, yeas 79, nays 18, Senate amendments concurred in.
2026-05-27 H
Scheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.
2026-05-26 H
Received from the Senate with amendments.
2026-05-26 S
Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 32 yeas and 2 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-21 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-20 S
Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-19 S
Reported with amendments.
2026-05-12 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary A.
2026-05-11 S
Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-05-11 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 70, nays 25. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-05-07 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/11/2026.
2026-05-07 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-05-07 H
Rules suspended.
2026-05-07 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-04-28 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-04-27 H
Reported favorably (6-0-1).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
2026-02-06 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/6/2026.
2026-02-03 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
2026-02-03 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

CIVIL/LAW: Removes damage threshold for carbon capture release

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 6142026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 79
BY REPRESENTATIVES ROBBY CARTER, MIKE JOHNSON, MCCORMICK, AND
OWEN
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 30:1109(B) through (F) and to repeal R.S. 30:1109(G), relative
3 to the recovery of damages in carbon capture and storage; to remove caps on
4 recovery for damages; to provide for technical changes; and to provide for related
5 matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 30:1109(B) through (F) are hereby amended and reenacted to read
8 as follows:
9 §1109. Cessation of storage operations; limited liability release
10 * * *
11 B.(1) In any civil liability action against the owner or operator of a storage
12 facility, carbon dioxide transmission pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide
13 being handled by either the facility or pipeline, the maximum amount recoverable
14 as compensatory damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed two hundred fifty
15 thousand dollars per person, except where the damages for noneconomic loss
16 suffered by the plaintiff were for wrongful death; permanent and substantial physical
17 deformity; loss of use of a limb or loss of a bodily organ system; or permanent
18 physical or mental functional injury that permanently prevents the injured person
19 from being able to independently care for himself or herself and perform life-
20 sustaining activities. In such cases, the maximum amount recoverable as
Page 1 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 79 ENROLLED
1 compensatory damages for noneconomic loss shall not exceed five hundred thousand
2 dollars per person.
3 (2) If Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, or the application thereof to any
4 person or circumstance, is finally determined by a court of law to be unconstitutional
5 or otherwise invalid, the maximum amount recoverable as damages for noneconomic
6 loss shall thereafter not exceed one million dollars per person. This provision shall
7 not supersede any contractual agreement with respect to liability between a plaintiff
8 and an owner or operator of a storage facility, a carbon dioxide transmission
9 pipeline, or the generator of the carbon dioxide.
10 C. Nothing in this Chapter shall establish or create establishes or creates any
11 liability or responsibility on the part of the secretary or the state to pay any costs
12 associated with site restoration from any source other than the funds or trusts created
13 by this Chapter, nor shall the secretary or the state of Louisiana have any liability or
14 responsibility to make any payments for costs associated with site restoration if the
15 trusts created herein are insufficient to do so.
16 D. C. The secretary or his agents, on proper identification, may enter the land
17 of another for purposes of site assessment or restoration.
18 E. D. The secretary and his agents are not liable for any damages arising
19 from an act or omission if the act or omission is part of a good faith effort to carry
20 out the purpose of this Chapter.
21 F. E. No party contracting with the Department of Conservation and Energy,
22 or the secretary under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed to be a public
23 employee or an employee otherwise subject to the provisions of Parts I through IV
24 of Chapter 15 of Title 42 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
25 G. F. The secretary shall implement this Section in a manner consistent with
26 and as the secretary deems necessary to carry out the purposes and requirements of
27 the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended, relating to the state's participation
28 in the underground injection control program established under that Act with respect
29 to the storage and sequestration of carbon dioxide, including but not limited to the
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 79 ENROLLED
1 state's authority to restrain any person from engaging in any unauthorized activity
2 which is endangering or causing damage to public health or the environment.
3 Section 2. R.S. 30:1109(G) is hereby repealed in its entirety.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.