La senator helped secure Meta’s largest data center. Then he sold the land beside it

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For more than two years, Louisiana State Senator John “Jay” Morris helped pave the way for Meta to build one of the world’s largest data centers, called Hyperion, in Richland Parish.

The Republican attorney lobbied a utility regulator for a key approval. He co-sponsored two bills that enabled the land deal between Meta and the state. And he voted “yea” on two additional bills that provided the trillion-dollar tech company with tax breaks worth an estimated $3.3 billion.

Now, a Floodlight investigation has found that while Morris used his political position to advance the project, he and his business partners were buying and selling the land around it over the past 15 months.

As recently as February, Morris and his partners sold hundreds of acres to utility giant Entergy for a methane-burning power plant to provide electricity for the data center.

Morris’ recent land deals haven’t been disclosed until today, according to Floodlight’s review of legislative filings, votes, media coverage and state Senate records. It’s unclear how much money he has made from these transactions — Louisiana law does not require buyers and sellers to publicly disclose sale prices.

Experts said the senator’s actions raise a serious issue of a possible violation of state ethics laws — such as La. R.S. 42:1112(A), 42:1120 and 42:1101 — which prohibit government officials from participating in official actions that benefit them financially, require them to recuse themselves from voting when a conflict exists and prohibit the use of public office for private gain.

“What makes it particularly egregious is not one isolated vote, but a sustained pattern: creating legal authority for a specific land deal, backing a huge tax break, lobbying a regulator, quietly positioning personal real estate around the project,” said Professor Dane Ciolino, an expert in governmental ethics at Loyola University New Orleans.

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