Latest news with #SusanBourgeois
American Press
16-07-2025
- Business
- American Press
Louisiana launches High Impact Jobs Program focused on energy, advanced manufacturing
(Special to the American Press) A new state program designed to boost high-paying employment in Louisiana officially launched this month, offering grants to companies in sectors deemed critical to the state's economy — including energy and advanced manufacturing — while excluding industries like gaming, retail, and solar farms. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois told The Center Square that the program has received four applicants so far. The High Impact Jobs Program, administered by Louisiana Economic Development, was created to provide performance-based grants to businesses that create full-time, benefits-eligible jobs paying above-average wages. To qualify, companies must meet wage thresholds based on regional or parish averages and operate in eligible industries. Bourgeois said the program emerged from a confluence of factors her department identified after she took office earlier this year. According to Bourgeois, there were two or three issues that 'seemed disparate' at first — the Industrial Tax Exemption Program changes under Governor Edwards, a 20-year-old Quality Jobs Program that had never been fully reimagined, and the lack of a modern strategic plan at the department. 'Where we've landed with all this is that they're not independent,' Bourgeois said, suggesting that HIP is meant to address all three issues. To participate in the new program, businesses must be located in Louisiana and approved by the LED secretary. Eligible projects must either create jobs in distressed areas with wages at least 110% of the lesser of the parish or regional average wage, create jobs in other areas with wages at least 125% of the parish average wage, or retain highly skilled workers with advanced degrees, if approved in advance by LED. Grants are reimbursable and based on the annualized wages of qualifying new jobs, capped at $2,000 per job, per year. The reimbursement rate depends on the wage level: 8% for jobs in distressed areas that meet the lower wage threshold, 18% for jobs that meet 125% to 150% of the parish average wage, and 22% for jobs that exceed 150% of the parish average wage. A separate grant is available to retain highly skilled workers with advanced degrees, subject to LED approval. Bourgeois emphasized that the new program is fiscally capped at $125 million annually, unlike the Quality Jobs Program, which was open-ended and dictated entirely by statute. 'That was a commitment we made to the Legislature — that our new proposal would be fiscally responsible while still allowing us to compete and win,' Bourgeois said. According to LED rules and program documents, energy and process industries — including liquefied natural gas services, nuclear components, and carbon ecosystem management — are explicitly listed among eligible sectors. Other targeted industries include manufacturing, logistics, aerospace and defense, biotechnology and medical device production, agribusiness, data centers and general management operations, and technology fields such as robotics, cybersecurity, and industrial software. LED may also approve projects aligned with its strategic plan, which is updated periodically. Bourgeois said that updating the department's strategic plan helped shape the direction of the program. 'We identified five North Stars for the department…one of those that's really fundamentally important is wage growth,' Bourgeois said. 'If Louisiana citizens aren't seeing rising wages to support their families, then are we really effective?' Some industries are expressly barred from participating. These include gaming, retail, solar farms, professional sports teams, local utilities such as water and sewer systems, solid waste disposal, legal and accounting services, call centers, and entertainment companies such as film, music, and live performance production. In the Quality Jobs program's final week, major companies including Shell, Exxon, Air Products, Dow, Meta, Hyundai, and Woodland filed applications before that program's sunset. Each of those companies 'has used the incentive in the past and built project plans around that economic formula,' Bourgeois said.
CNBC
25-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
To land Meta's massive $10 billion data center, Louisiana pulled out all the stops. Will it be worth it?
On a massive, 2,250-acre site about 250 miles north of New Orleans, hundreds of construction workers and tons of heavy equipment are turning former soybean fields into what will be the largest data center in the Western Hemisphere. And in the process, officials say, they are transforming Louisiana's economy. "It put us on a scale that has a lot of people, not just domestically, but internationally, sort of rethinking Louisiana," Secretary of Economic Development Susan Bourgeois told CNBC. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced in December that it had chosen Louisiana as the site for its largest data center to date — a $10 billion hub for its rapidly growing artificial intelligence operations. The announcement set off the public phase of a sprawling, real world experiment in the promise and the peril of data centers — which have become among the most sought-after trophies in the battle between the states for business. Data centers are essentially giant collections of computer servers, which are needed to process enormously complex operations for things like artificial intelligence and data storage. They typically take up massive spaces and use huge amounts of power and water, but they employ very few people. Meta's newest data center will ultimately create just 500 permanent jobs, though employment will briefly swell to about 5,000 during construction. Nonetheless, Meta found itself with no shortage of suitors willing to meet its demands. "We set out looking for a place where we could expand into gigawatts pretty quickly, and really get moving within that community on a large plot of land very quickly," said Rachel Peterson, vice president of data centers for Meta. "We looked at finding very, very large contiguous plots of land that had access to the infrastructure that we need, the energy that we needed, and could move very, very quickly for us." Louisiana was one of the few states that could deliver a site as large as Meta needed — the equivalent of about 1,700 football fields. The state had already purchased most of the land, in rural Richland Parish, back in 2006 in hopes of luring an automotive plant that never materialized. As for the energy — the Meta site will use roughly twice as much electricity as the city of New Orleans on a peak day — local utility Entergy said it could deliver. "What I see is an opportunity for this industry to grow in a way it hasn't seen in many decades," said Phillip May, CEO of Entergy Louisiana. The company is seeking regulatory approval to build not one, but three gas-fired power plants at the site, at a cost of more than $3 billion. The one piece Louisiana did not have was one that Bourgeois said was non-negotiable for Meta: a program to allow the company to avoid paying potentially billions of dollars in sales tax on the equipment to build and operate the center. Last June, only six months after taking office, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a 20-year sales tax exemption for data centers built before 2029. The fact that the state was courting Meta at the time was not disclosed. "The Meta folks made it clear to us from day one that in order for a project like this to happen in any state, that exemption or rebate — whatever the formula is — has to exist," Bourgeois said. "It's one of the things that we look at," said Peterson. "Obviously these are very high investment capital projects for us and any others who are developing data centers and investing them. So, we do look at the overall cost of the project to make sure it's in line with what we'd expect," she added. A recent CNBC investigation found that in just the past five years, 16 states have handed out nearly $6 billion in similar sales tax breaks, and that is just the ones that have been disclosed. More often, the amounts are either undisclosed, or, as appears to be the case in Louisiana, officials don't know the exact cost yet. An analysis by the state's Legislative Fiscal Office in May said the incentive could cost the state "tens of millions of dollars or more each year, possibly through (fiscal year) 2059." But whatever the cost, Bourgeois said the benefits of the project outweigh it. "This wasn't about what the state would win or lose, just that one isolated sales tax," she said. "This was about we want to compete with Texas. We want to compete with Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, all our Southern neighbors." Meta earned $164.5 billion in revenue last year. There are also concerns about the energy needs of the facility, even though Entergy has committed to generate massive amounts of electricity to support it. The Louisiana Public Service Commission is considering the utility's proposal to build three new power plants. But a citizen's group, Alliance for Affordable Energy, is warning that the project could compromise the state's power grid and increase electricity rates statewide. "While they're building new power plants, they're also adding a huge consumer of electricity," said Jackson Voss, Climate Policy Coordinator for the group. "Which means we're all still facing the same vulnerabilities that we were before, but now with a huge new data center added on." Louisiana has a spotty track record on grid reliability. According to U.S. Department of Energy data analyzed by CNBC for this year's America's Top States for Business study, the average Louisiana customer lost power for 9.7 hours in 2023, the most recent data available, ranking the state in 40th place, though Entergy by itself performed substantially better. Still, as many as 100,000 Entergy customers in the New Orleans area lost power on Memorial Day weekend when the regional power grid became overloaded. Entergy's May said that the added generation capacity for the Meta facility — including 1,500 megawatts of solar power in addition to the gas-fired plants — will make the grid more stable, not less. And he said the project will ultimately reduce electric bills across the state. "We're getting new power plants that will be improving in terms of the efficiency. There will be lower fuel costs as a result of adding incremental, more efficient power plants," he said. Plus, he said, while Entergy will pay for the power plants, Meta will pay for the infrastructure to connect to them. "So, hundreds of millions of dollars of support from this customer that would not otherwise have been there had Meta not come." More important, he said, the project will be a huge economic boost for Richland Parish — one of the poorest areas in the state, if not the nation. "This massive $10 billion investment, coupled with the billions of dollars that we're going to invest ourselves, is going to bring new opportunities for these communities," he said. "500 jobs in Richland Parish, or even in this northeast Louisiana region, is transformational," Bourgeois said. Plus, she said, this project opens the door for more of the same. "I could try to sell Louisiana to the world for a long time," she said. "The fact that [Meta] chose us makes my job a lot easier."
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Landry, Louisiana leaders talk about Super Bowl economic impact
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — Louisiana leaders are set to talk about how Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans impacted the state's economy Tuesday morning. The New Orleans Super Bowl Host Committee, New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson, Secretary of the Department of Louisiana Economic Development Susan Bourgeois, and GNO Inc. will join Gov. Jeff Landry at the Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge. The news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. Louisiana First News will provide a livestream in this article. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in the Big Game on Feb. 9, 2025. These New Orleans Super Bowls weren't played in the Superdome NCAA Super Regional schedule announced; see when LSU Baseball plays FDA elevates tomato recall in 3 states to highest level Watch: Masked man throws egg inscribed with 'message' at Cybertruck, owner says What to expect during the 2025 hurricane season | Tracking the Tropics Tariffs drive up U.S. auto prices by 2.5% Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Press
14-05-2025
- Business
- American Press
Jim Beam column:Tax breaks hard to eliminate
Louisiana legislators are addicted to handing out tax exemptions and they are trying to do it again.(metrocreativegraphics). Louisiana legislators love to give tax exemptions. The state gave away $7.5 billion of those exemptions in 2023, according to the latest figures available. The Advocate sized the situation up well when it said the state gave away $1 in exemptions for every $2 it collected in fiscal year 2023. While giving away $7.5 billion, the state collected $12.5 billion in taxes. The Legislature had some success in curbing those exemptions when it held a tax reform special last November, but that has been rare in recent years. The newspaper said it repealed the Quality Jobs Program and Enterprise Zone exemptions. Legislators reduced the cap on tax credits it gives for movie and TV productions from $180 million to $125 million per year and for investments in historic properties from $125 million to $85 million. In 2023, the state raised $4.5 billion in sales taxes, but it gave away $3.3 billion in exemptions. It sounds almost unbelievable, but the state had 218 state sales tax exemptions totaling $1.7 billion. The state had 95 individual income tax exemptions totaling $1.6 billion. It had 60 corporate income tax exemptions totaling $1.8 billion. Susan Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, in an interview told The Advocate that investors care most about lower tax rates. A tax incentive, she added, 'closes deals, it doesn't get us deals.' While that is true, legislators still love to sponsor tax exemptions. During the current fiscal session, legislators have proposed over 70 new tax breaks. The newspaper said they insist new tax breaks or expansion of existing ones creates jobs and investment. State Rep. Les Farnum, R-Sulphur, doesn't buy that argument. 'Tax credits are the reason we're in the shape we're in financially,' Farnum said. He is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee that handles exemptions and Farnum in an interview said, 'We give away so much money. We have a host of brand new requests every year.' Thanks to the late-Rep. Vic Stelly, an independent from Moss Bluff, there are some tax breaks that benefit all citizens. A sales tax exemption for food purchased for home consumption totaled $584.5 million in 2023. An exemption for residential utilities totaled $251.3 million. And an exemption for prescription medications totaled $405.8 million. The $1.24 billion exempted for those three when they were approved in 2002 were paid for with higher state income taxes. Unfortunately, the Legislature reduced the income taxes in 2008 and the state experienced almost eight years of severe budget crunches. The late-Gov. Mike Foster called the Stelly Plan one of the most beneficial tax reform plans passed in many years. The three special exemptions are in the state constitution and the state's voters are unlikely to ever remove them from that special protection. The income tax that was raised in 2002 wasn't protected. The Advocate said the Tax Exemption Budget from the Louisiana Department of Revenue shows that legislators over the years have legalized a total of 564 tax breaks in the form of exemptions, deductions and exclusions from sales, income, corporate franchise and user fee taxes. The newspaper said Gov. Jeff Landry and legislators at last year's third special session had some luck ending or reducing tax exemptions. They want to continue to wipe out exemptions, but it's never easy. Former state Sen. JP Morrell, who is now president of the New Orleans City Council, in an interview during last year's tax reform session, said, 'We were unable (in 2017) to get traction. Every (tax break) constituency showed up, and they got to one or two legislators' to protect their favored tax breaks. Former state Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner, tried to end some sales tax exemptions as chair of a special committee to do it, but legislators refused to support the effort. Judging from tax exemptions that were ended or reduced during last November's special session, legislators may finally be ready to end some of the costly tax breaks. However, we won't get a final answer until we see what happens to the 70 tax break bills that were filed for the current legislative session. Louisiana has the highest combined state and local sales tax in the country, so it's definitely time to end a large chunk of those existing 218 sales tax exemptions and lower sales taxes. Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or Reply Forward Add reaction
Axios
11-04-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
What Waymo learning New Orleans' streets means for state business
When Waymo hit the streets in New Orleans, it was at least in part because the driverless ride-hailing company got invited here by state leaders. Why it matters: The move illustrates a strategy shift for how the state is doing business. The big picture: Under Gov. Jeff Landry appointee Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana Economic Development has been aggressively seeking new logos to enter the Louisiana market. Part of that work was obvious in January when a massive tent took over part of downtown to showcase the state's business opportunities for Super Bowl LIX visitors. There were flashy announcements for Meta's new data center and a White House press conference for Hyundai's new steel plant. And LED produced a new 40-page plan that amounts to a statewide strengths, weaknesses and opportunities analysis for new business. Zoom in: Waymo's self-driving cars have been learning the streets around New Orleans for weeks now. The backstory of how they ended up here is an interesting case study for the state's perspective shift. About a month after Josh Fleig took the job of chief innovation officer at LED last summer, he reached out directly to Waymo to ask about testing cars here. The goal, he said during a recent real estate outlook seminar at UNO, was to figure out what impact the company might have on local rideshare drivers before the cat was already out of the bag. What he says: "I know that's counterintuitive to say, 'Let me help you displace workers,' but … unless we get involved early with big tech companies trying to figure out these really existential questions, we'll be fully reactive, it'll be too late and the poor will get poorer," he said. "That is a very simple hypothesis," he said, "and that's how we want to treat automation." What's next: Waymo's cars, which do have drivers during the testing phase, will be on local streets for about another month, a rep tells Axios New Orleans. Go deeper
