The House Committee on Commerce on Monday voted to send a resolution urging the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Louisiana portion of Cleco Power to consider protections for local jobs if the regulated utility is sold.

Speaker Pro Tempore Neil Johnson, who introduced House Concurrent Resolution 11, said the request was aimed at preserving positions at Cleco’s corporate headquarters in Pineville. "I do not want them to sell the company unless they preserve those jobs," Johnson said, citing concern for roughly 600 permanent headquarters positions and additional service jobs tied to operations in central Louisiana.

The resolution asks the PSC and Cleco to use the commission’s established criteria — a 1994 General Order that lists 18 factors — when reviewing any transfer of ownership or control of utilities under PSC jurisdiction. Johnson told the committee that one of those factors requires the PSC to determine whether a transfer would be "fair and reasonable to the affected public utility or common carrier employees."

Brandon Frey, executive secretary of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, told the committee the PSC imposed detailed conditions when Cleco last changed ownership in 2016. "We issued a ... order with 39 pages of regulatory commitments that the company agreed to, 77 in total," Frey said. He said commitments 6 through 15 "directly deal with" staffing and corporate headquarters commitments and that the PSC required Cleco to maintain its headquarters and staffing levels in Pineville as part of the prior approval.

Members of the committee voiced support for the resolution and raised questions about the PSC’s authority and public notice. Representative Michael Knox said protecting employment stability in the company’s headquarters also helps regional economic stability. Representative Jordan asked whether mandating job preservation would prevent savings that might benefit ratepayers; Johnson and Frey both said the PSC already weighs multiple factors — including employee impacts and rate consequences — when it approves a sale.

The committee moved the resolution favorably by voice vote. There was no roll-call recorded in the committee minutes.

Why it matters: Cleco is a major employer in central Louisiana; preserving headquarters jobs would have local economic and community effects and could be a condition attached to any change in ownership authorized by the PSC.

Committee action: Representative Knox moved to report HCR 11 favorably; there were no objections and the motion carried. The resolution asks the PSC to "please not approve any sale that does not protect and maintain those jobs," language Johnson explained is intended as a formal request rather than a state mandate.

Context and next steps: Frey told the committee the PSC’s prior approvals for Cleco included extensive commitments on staffing, capital structure and rate protections; Johnson said the measure is meant to reiterate to the PSC the local concern and to "belt and suspenders" the PSC’s prior approach. The resolution does not change PSC law or create a new statutory requirement; it is a legislative request to the commission.