...Meanwhile, with the pipeline industry booming, communities are organizing against numerous projects across the United States. In Louisiana, for example, multiple people were arrested under the state’s ALEC-inspired law while protesting construction of the Bayou Bridge oil pipeline.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is challenging the Louisiana law on First Amendment grounds. Pam Spees, the attorney representing pipeline opponents in the case, said the goal of the Trump administration’s proposal is clear. “We already know from the way similar legislation has been applied in Louisiana what the true aim of this bill is to chill and eliminate opposition to these projects.” ...

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