Louisiana: Vermilion Parish Residents Sue Police Jury and Development Board, Alleging Open-Meetings Violations in the SpaceX Tax Deal
VERMILION PARISH, Louisiana — The Vermilion Citizens Coalition and three residents, Robert Young III, Rebecca Young and Cheryl Choate, sued the Vermilion Parish Police Jury and the parish Industrial Development Board in the 15th Judicial District Court on October 26, alleging eight violations of the state open meetings law in the negotiation and approval of a tax deal with SpaceX. The plaintiffs' attorney, William Most, stated plainly that the suit "is not against SpaceX" — the defendants are the two parish public bodies.
The complaint says that on August 25 the Industrial Development Board hid the item on its agenda under the code name "Project Osprey" and approved the PILOT tax agreement in under 30 minutes with no public comment: a 25-year tax exemption valued at nearly $23.8 billion, with SpaceX paying $25 million a year to start, rising 2% annually, plus about $800 million in payments, $20 million in infrastructure and a $25 million charitable fund, tied to the proposed $100 billion "Starbase Louisiana" site at Pecan Island.
The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the procedures unlawful. The Police Jury and the Industrial Development Board have not publicly responded to the suit, which is now before the court.
Source: GSM · America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：弗米利恩县县治阿比维尔的弗米利恩河（CC BY 2.0，Wikimedia Commons）。The Vermilion River at Abbeville, the Vermilion Parish seat (CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
