Louisiana House supports bill to nullify levee board lawsuit 
The Louisiana House voted with the oil and gas industry Thursday,  supporting a bill that seeks to void a lawsuit filed by a New Orleans  area levee board against 97 oil and gas companies.
 
With the 59-39 House vote, the proposal is one step from passage. 
The Senate-backed bill  must return to the Senate for consideration of changes that solidify  the bill's intent to kill the lawsuit. Gov. Bobby Jindal supports the  measure.
 The Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East filed a  lawsuit against 97 oil and gas companies, alleging their drilling  activities damaged Louisiana's coast and vulnerable wetlands.
 
Lawsuit supporters say the industry hasn't sufficiently been held  accountable for the damage done by dredging for canals and pipelines.  Critics call it an attack on a valuable state industry, a boon for trial  lawyers and a lawsuit that the levee board had no authority to file.
 
The bill by Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, would define which  governmental entities can bring legal claims about management of  Louisiana's coastal zones to entities designated in the Coastal Zone  Management Act. Levee boards aren't on the list.