Contrary to Opponent’s Lies, Miguez Held the Line Against Carbon Capture and Defended Louisianians Against Eminent Domain
In the race to replace U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, opponents of State Senator Blake Miguez have manufactured a boogieman designed to stop him from being Louisiana’s next U.S. Senator.
Organized and directed by State Treasurer John Fleming and his campaign, opponents of Miguez have openly circulated a falseallegation that he supports Carbon Capture Sequestration (CCS) and the use of eminent domain in CCS projects.
The reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Senator Miguez has religiously opposed the expansion of CCS and eminent domain, and his voting record confirms it.
In fact, Miguez even attempted to full ban eminent domain from being used for any CCS projects in 2023 through Amendment #2624 to HB 571 (2023).
While that amendment failed, Miguez has passed countless additional pieces of legislation that have tightened restrictions on CCS projects, restricted eminent domain, and protected Louisianians.
Miguez helped pass SB73 (2025), which raised the threshold for landowner consent for eminent domain utilization from 75% to 85%, even higher than the threshold for a traditional oil and gas pipeline.
Miguez voted for HB169 (2024), which expanded the cap on damages for property owners, holding CCS operators accountable and protecting the rights of landowners.
Miguez backed SB36 (2025), which restricted CCS operators’ ability to utilize eminent domain and forced local government and local opinion to be involved in any CCS project.
Miguez helped pass HB304 (2025) which required that eminent domain disputes be heard in the parish where the land is located, rather than by a court in Baton Rouge.
Miguez even led the charge to pass HB244 (2025) through the Senate, which recategorized CCS operators and got rid of a loophole allowing them to operate as industrial waste pipelines. Now, CCS operators are forced to attain common carrier status, a significantly higher bar.
So why do Miguez opponents persist in accusing the Senator of supporting Carbon Capture Sequestration?
The simple answer is that it serves their political convenience. The longer answer is that they’ve twisted and misrepresented a plethora of legislation into a false narrative that serves their purposes. Let’s take a look at those accusations:
In 2020, Senator Miguez voted in favor of SB353, which opened up eligibility to federal subsidies tied to CCS for Louisiana’s Oil and Gas industry, which was struggling during COVID-19 at the time. Opponents claim this was a vote in favor of carbon capture and eminent domain. In reality, this was a vote in favor of Louisiana’s Oil & Gas industry that provided support during a difficult period. When SB353 was passed, the only vocal opposition to the legislation came from the left-wing environmental nuts at the Sierra Club.
Every single Republican in Baton Rouge, in both the House and Senate, voted for this bill to support hard-working Louisianiansin the Oil & Gas industry. The bill did not introduce CCS to Louisiana, that was done a decade prior by the Louisiana Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Act of 2009.
In 2021, Senator Miguez voted for HB572, which added to the list of substances that can legally be stored underground and simultaneously strengthened the CCS trust fund, a fund overseen by Treasurer John Fleming and tasked with funding safety measures, inspections, and environmental cleanup. Opponents claim that this included Carbon Capture Sequestration and funded the trust fund with taxpayer dollars, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Carbon dioxide wasn’t even added by the bill, it was already present thanks to 2009’s legislation. Funding to the trust fund came from fees and taxes on operators. It did not take tax dollars from uninvolved Louisianians, only those companies directly responsible for implementing storage projects.
In 2023, Senator Miguez voted against several locality specific bills that put moratoriums on CCS projects in a specific locality, like HB267 dealing with Lake Maurepas and HB120 dealing with Lake Ponchatrain. These moratorium proposals would have been unconstitutional had they passed, because Louisiana did not have the authority at the time to regulate Class IV wells used for CCS – the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did. Senator Miguez is seemingly guilty of not attempting to pass unconstitutional legislation.
In 2024, Senator Miguez voted for HB492 and HB 966. Opponents claim that HB492 gave CCS operators the ability to seize private property through eminent domain, when the legislation actually significantly restricted eminent domain and protected landowners. The bill prohibited CCS projects with very limited exceptions, required local public hearings for CCS permits, required a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for any eminent domain, and clarified that CCS operators are NOT public utilities or common carriers. All ofthese provisions were huge blows to the CCS industry. HB966 established the concept of unitization in eminent domain proceedings. Opponents claim that it compelled landowners to join the unitization, which is false. In reality the concept of unitization laid the groundwork for Miguez and his allies to pass SB73 in 2025, raising the threshold of agreement within the unit from 75% to 85% and making it more difficult for CCS operators to utilize eminent domain – another significant win for private property rights.
John Fleming and his supporters either grossly misunderstand or deliberately misrepresent each piece of legislation they attempt to use against Senator Miguez.
What’s even more hypocritical in this context is that John Fleming himself took a vote that supported Carbon Capture Sequestration while he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015. Fleming voted for the North American Security and Infrastructure Act of 2015, which enabled the Obama Administration’s Secretary of Energy to review and recommend funding increases for Carbon Capture Sequestration Projects. The bill reads:
“The Secretary shall … assess the funding of the [CCS] project and make a recommendation as to whether increased funding is necessary to advance the project” – Sec. 1109(c)(2)(A)
While this language was certainly lumped in alongside other subject matter, for John Fleming to represent himself as a purist on CCS while twisting Senator Miguez’s strong defense of private property rights against him is disingenuous at best, and blatant political deception at worst.
No elected legislator in our state has stood for Louisianians, their safety, and their private property rights as strongly as Senator Miguez. His opponent’s twisted narrative is nothing more than a disingenuous attempt to misrepresent a strong legislative record as a weak one, for the political advantage of another candidate.
