Cameron Parish officials are considering reviving a long-defunct industrial development board as a way to maintain greater local control over tax incentives for Commonwealth LNG, amid concerns that Gov. Jeff Landry’s changes to Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program have shifted more authority toward the state, The Current reports.
Commonwealth asked parish officials and the local ITEP committee to reduce the taxable value of its project from 20% to 7%, but the committee was not receptive, after which the company took its request to the governor’s office.
District Attorney Tom Barrett has proposed using an industrial development board to structure a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement that could exempt Commonwealth’s plant assets from property taxes in exchange for contractual payments, potentially lasting 20 to 30 years and including additional community benefits. Barrett says Commonwealth could pay $150 million during the first 10 years and another $1 billion over the following decade, though those figures are projections and no agreement has been reached.
The proposal has prompted concerns about transparency and whether reviving the board could give local officials less control over future industrial projects. Barrett says the parish is considering amendments to the board’s 50-year-old governing documents that would legally require police jury approval before the board exercises its authority.
The issue is becoming more urgent because once Commonwealth files its amended ITEP application, the local committee will have 45 days to consent, object or take no action.
