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Agency official unveils four initiatives to connect Louisiana businesses with major projects
Summary
An agency official announced four programs — a statewide business directory (Source Louisiana), a multi-stop opportunity tour, Project Lightning Speed to cut red tape, and tougher in-state participation requirements for incentives — aimed at boosting local firms’ access to incoming industrial projects.
An agency official announced four new initiatives intended to help Louisiana businesses compete for work tied to the state’s recent industrial investments, saying the programs will give local firms more visibility, capacity-building and accountability when projects arrive.
The official said the first initiative is Source Louisiana, an online hub at sourcelouisiana.com that will "showcase their capabilities, their certifications and their capacity to do business," designed to remove excuses that out-of-state firms were hired because local options were unknown. "Source Louisiana is going to be a statewide hub where businesses right here at home can showcase their capabilities," the official said.
The second initiative is a "Driving Louisiana Opportunity" tour led by Secretary Susan Bourgeois and her team: a multi-day, multi-stop outreach to meet companies statewide and "plug them into Source Louisiana," with a stated goal tied to Louisiana Economic Development’s target of 800 business retention and expansion visits this fiscal year.
The third initiative, named Project Lightning Speed, will be launched by executive order and create cabinet-level liaisons across agencies "toward reducing red tape," the official said, aiming to streamline permitting and interagency coordination so investments move "at the speed of business and not the speed of government." The official cited frequent permitting touchpoints — DEQ, DOTD, wildlife, DNR and the state fire marshal — as reasons coordination is necessary.
The fourth commitment is to "ensure Louisiana participation" in incentive-funded projects by reviewing state incentives so tax breaks and other support are conditioned on measurable in-state engagement, including vendor participation, local hiring and community investments. "If we're going to give someone tax breaks we're going to hold them accountable for using Louisiana businesses," the official said, adding that companies "will have to account" for how many Louisiana businesses they sourced.
The official framed the initiatives as part of a broader effort to capture benefits from major projects such as the META site in Richland Parish, a Woodside LNG facility and other energy and manufacturing investments. He said these programs are meant to keep dollars and jobs in Louisiana while making local businesses competitive enough to win contracts.
The announcement included examples and quantitative targets the speaker used to justify the approach: LED’s goal of 800 retention and expansion visits this fiscal year and a cited $20,000,000 City Park investment as an instance of public seed money that should be tied to accountability measures.
The official invited questions and said the cabinet would work with local governments and companies to implement the initiatives; no formal votes or new statutes were announced at the event.
