Facing pressure from voters, a handful of state lawmakers are backing out of nondisclosure agreements that Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration has used to conduct secret negotiations with companies that often receive large tax breaks from the state, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate is reporting.
Records show that 77% of state Senators have signed nondisclosure agreements at the behest of Louisiana Economic Development, the state agency in charge of attracting companies here. At least 14 of 105 House members, including several committee chairs and Speaker Phillip Devillier, have signed NDAs, according to copies of the agreements and a list of lawmakers who declined, the newspapers report.
Three Republican state Senators from various parts of the state — Bill Wheat, Valarie Hodges and Bob Hensgens — have requested LED terminate their NDAs, according to emails and records obtained by The Times-Picayune | The Advocate. Democratic state Rep. Joy Walters also asked LED to cancel her nondisclosure agreement over pushback from her constituents, who are upset about an Amazon data center in her Caddo Parish region, she said.
Their requests come as the Landry administration’s use of NDAs to negotiate economic development deals draws pushback from some residents and advocacy groups, some of whom have sued over their use. Landry’s office has used NDAs for several high-profile business deals, including to keep negotiations secret with the tech giant Meta, as the state worked to lure the company to north Louisiana. The company could get billions in tax breaks for its $50 billion data center, which is prompting questions about effects on utility rates and water use, through an incentive created by Landry and the Legislature, the newspapers report.
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