For Ascension Parish employers who have spent years struggling to fill skilled jobs, the 2026 Louisiana legislative session may have delivered the answer they’ve been waiting for.
Donnie Miller, president and CEO of the Ascension Parish Chamber of Commerce, said local lawmakers advanced a slate of measures aimed at workforce development, economic growth and industrial competitiveness—wins he believes will pay off for the parish’s business community for years to come.
Much of that progress, Miller said, came from a delegation that stayed engaged on the issues business leaders care about most. The Ascension Parish group includes Sen. Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales; Sen. Ed Price, D-Gonzales; Rep. Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville; Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie; Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales; and Rep. Jeffery Wiley, R-Maurepas.
At the center of that effort were two workforce bills: Senate Bill 383 and House Bill 680. SB 383 updates the state’s Incumbent Worker Training Program, modernizing eligibility requirements and opening more opportunities for employee training and upskilling. HB 680 reorganizes Louisiana’s workforce development structure, establishes a more formal statewide planning process and builds in accountability through annual workforce reporting.
For Miller, SB 383 is the one to watch—and the one most likely to be felt on the ground.
“This bill may have more practical impact than many of the headline-grabbing bills because it directly addresses one of the biggest challenges facing our local employers, which is finding and retaining skilled workers,” Miller said.
The session’s other major thread ran straight through Ascension’s industrial backbone. Miller said carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects have become central to a parish dense with manufacturing and energy facilities—and increasingly central to its future.
“It’s a huge piece of our economy currently, but it’s also a huge piece of our growth moving forward,” Miller said. “A large amount of the development coming into the area has some sort of carbon capture utilization and storage component tied to the viability of the project.”
That growth depends, in part, on certainty—which is where House Bill 804 comes in. Known as the Louisiana Energy Protection Act, the measure raises the threshold for climate-related legal claims and limits certain civil lawsuits seeking damages tied to greenhouse gas emissions.
To Miller, the value is straightforward: When companies are weighing billion-dollar bets, predictability tips the scales.
“Ascension Parish is home to some of the largest manufacturers, energy producers and industrial employers, and as companies evaluate where to invest billions of dollars in future projects, legal predictability matters,” he said.
Beyond those headline items, the delegation stayed active on a broad slate of business priorities, including infrastructure and transportation funding, tax and insurance reform, capital outlay, economic development incentives, education alignment and regional growth management.
Not every initiative produced a win. Voters rejected Amendment 4, which would have addressed Louisiana’s inventory tax system, leaving one of the parish’s thorniest issues unresolved. Miller said it cuts both ways.
“There’s two sides of the coin,” Miller said. “With such a heavy inventory tax, it is a tremendous benefit to the parish in the tax base, but it also is an extreme burden for industry as well.”
Looking ahead, Miller is betting the momentum holds—and that Gov. Jeff Landry’s focus on economic development keeps working in the parish’s favor.
“I think if he continues the aggressive focus on economic development throughout Louisiana, Ascension Parish is only going to benefit even more as we continue to grow,” Miller said. “I’m interested to see if he continues the momentum and push on economic development because I think it’s only a good thing for our parish.”
