Last week the state Senate voted unanimously, 39-0, for a plan that would turn the UL horse farm on Johnston Street into a passive recreational park for Acadiana residents.
State Rep. Joel Robideaux, the bill's sponsor, says the Senate asked for an amendment that would prevent a drilling rig from being erected on the surface of the property. As part of the land deal, in which the property would be purchased by an anonymous donor and gifted to the Community Foundation of Acadiana, the state will retain the mineral rights. "They can pull the minerals out, but they can't go put a rig on the land," Robideaux says.
The bill returns to the House for concurrence; that's expected to happen today. In early June, the House voted 95-2 for the measure. "Once we vote to concur, at that point it moves to the governor's desk," Robideaux says.