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Legislative report: severance-tax bill stalls; parish wins CDBG and Brownfield grants
Summary
Legislative liaison Chance McNeely briefed the jury that HB 294 (severance tax measure) failed to reach a Senate floor vote; the parish also learned it qualified for up to $1,000,000 in CDBG public-facilities funding and received a $1.2 million Brownfield assessment grant for fiscal 2025.
Legislative liaison Chance McNeely told the jury the severance tax bill (filed as HB 294) "failed to pass" after it reached the Senate but did not receive a floor vote, a setback he attributed to fiscal concerns and the difficulty of advancing constitutional amendments one at a time.
McNeely also said the jury did not receive additional capital-outlay road funding this year, in part because prior appropriations remain unspent; he encouraged staff to obligate existing funds to improve the parish's prospects for future allocations. "The 8,000,000 you got last year is still appropriated and available," he said, urging timely obligation of those dollars.
Separately, the president read a letter notifying the jury that the governor had approved a FY2025 Louisiana Community Development Block Grant public-facilities application for the parish in an amount up to $1,000,000 and that an authorization-to-incur-cost (AIC) letter will follow. The administrator also announced the jury received a Brownfield assessment coalition grant of $1,200,000 for fiscal 2025 in partnership with the City of Mansfield and the village of South Mansfield; staff said participation carries no local match obligation.
What happens next: Staff said they will pursue required cooperative endeavor agreements (CEAs) and training for grant administration, and will continue to work with legislators and agency staff to obligate existing capital-outlay funds so the parish remains competitive in future rounds.
Sources and attribution: Legislative report and grant announcements were presented during the administrative and legislative reports (Chance McNeely; letter read by the president; administrator's grant announcement).
