As Louisiana pursues megaprojects, NDAs become standard operating procedure

Since taking office, Gov. Jeff Landry has increasingly relied on NDAs in his administration, including personally signing one in April 2024 with Laidley LLC, the Meta subsidiary used during negotiations for the company’s massive Hyperion data center project in Richland Parish, WWNO – New Orleans Public Radio reports. 

According to records obtained by Gulf States Newsroom, the mutual NDA broadly defines confidential information to include proposed deal terms, pricing, financial information and even the existence of the agreement itself. It also prohibits either side from publicly discussing their relationship without the other’s written approval, while requiring the state to make “commercially reasonable efforts” to limit disclosures otherwise required under Louisiana’s public records law.

Open government advocates say the agreement goes well beyond protecting legitimate trade secrets. 

David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, argues that requiring the state to seek protective orders against public records requests “turns public record laws on their head.” He says the NDA effectively “muzzles” government officials, gives a private corporation veto power over public statements and even attempts to conceal the existence of the agreement itself. 

Steven Procopio of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana says NDAs can have a legitimate role in economic development negotiations but warns they should be the exception rather than the norm because excessive secrecy undermines public accountability.

The NDA with Meta is part of a broader pattern. A Gulf States Newsroom and Type Investigations investigation found that at least 121 employees in the governor’s office, from senior advisers and agency heads to interns and temporary staff, have signed sweeping confidentiality agreements since Landry took office. 

Those agreements require employees to obtain the governor’s written permission before disclosing information learned on the job, allow the state to fire or sue employees for violations, and continue indefinitely even after workers leave state government. 

WWNO has the full story.