"Louisiana legislators are considering whether chemical plants and other industrial facilities should be allowed to conduct voluntary pollution audits that would remain secret and to grant legal immunity for certain violations discovered by the audits.

A bill authorizing the audits advanced out of the House Natural Resource and Environment Committee on Wednesday (May 1) by a vote of 13 to 3. It now goes to the full House for debate.

House Bill 510 was backed by the chemical and oil industries and mirrors similar legislation recently enacted by more than 20 other states, including Texas and Mississippi. The bill was opposed by environmental groups and legal scholars who called it a vaguely-crafted piece of legislation that affords protections for wrong-doing."

Tristan Baurick reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune May 1, 2019. [2]