SLS 17RS-1362 ORIGINAL 2017 Regular Session SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 83 BY SENATOR ERDEY LEGIS POWERS/FUNCTIONS. Designates May 9, 2017, as Louisiana Chemical Industry Day. 1 A RESOLUTION 2 To designate May 9, 2017, as "Louisiana Chemical Industry Day". 3 WHEREAS, nature endowed Louisiana with gifts that provide the springboard for 4 major industry, which has brought great benefits to the people of the state; and 5 WHEREAS, these gifts include abundant oil and natural gas, salt dome caverns, 6 sulfur deposits, fresh water, and access to the oceans of the world through the Calcasieu 7 Basin and the Mississippi River; and 8 WHEREAS, the petrochemical industry that has grown around these natural 9 amenities has become one of Louisiana's greatest assets; and 10 WHEREAS, the Louisiana chemical industry acknowledges that it depends on 11 Louisiana and its residents for its resources, a well-trained workforce, and a strong business 12 climate; and 13 WHEREAS, this industry provides the most direct jobs in Louisiana's manufacturing 14 sector, employing nearly twenty-eight thousand citizens in fifty-three of the state's sixty-four 15 parishes and tens of thousands more employees in hundreds of businesses that support the 16 industry; and 17 WHEREAS, an additional two hundred fifty-seven thousand jobs are generated 18 indirectly by chemical industry activity in Louisiana; and Page 1 of 3 SR NO. 83 SLS 17RS-1362 ORIGINAL 1 WHEREAS, the Louisiana chemical industry produces nearly $58 billion in products 2 annually, the third highest total in the nation; and 3 WHEREAS, Louisiana exports $8.8 billion in chemical products annually to other 4 parts of the world; and 5 WHEREAS, chemical industry wages in Louisiana are forty-eight percent higher 6 than the average manufacturing wages in Louisiana; and 7 WHEREAS, the industry contributes more than $1 billion annually to state and local 8 coffers through direct tax payments and through household earnings generated by the 9 Louisiana chemical industry; and 10 WHEREAS, more than $8.9 billion of total direct employee earnings is generated by 11 local chemical companies; and 12 WHEREAS, Louisianians' lives are enhanced and improved every day by chemical 13 products produced in Louisiana, ranging from fire resistant foam used in our beds and chairs; 14 to the nitrogen bags that give potato chips a longer shelf life; golf clubs, hard hats, bullet 15 proof vests, contact lenses, pacemakers, and thousands of other consumer products; and 16 WHEREAS, the Louisiana chemical industry is more than just a group of companies 17 and is comprised of a collection of people who want the same things their neighbors 18 want-safe and clean communities with vibrant neighborhoods, good schools, and a strong 19 economy; and 20 WHEREAS, the Louisiana chemical industry is essential to the state's economic 21 growth and development. 22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana 23 does hereby recognize the essential role the chemical industry plays in Louisiana's economic 24 development and proclaims May 9, 2017, as "Louisiana Chemical Industry Day". 25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the 26 Louisiana Chemical Association. Page 2 of 3 SR NO. 83 SLS 17RS-1362 ORIGINAL The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Nancy Vicknair. DIGEST SR 83 Original 2017 Regular Session Erdey Designates May 9, 2017, as Louisiana Chemical Industry Day. Page 3 of 3