Some Louisiana lawmakers backing out of NDAs as questions arise over data centers & deals

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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.

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.

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Landry’s spokesperson, Kate Kelly, didn’t respond to multiple messages seeking comment. Kelly is among the Landry staffers who signed an NDA, along with former chief of staff Kyle Ruckert and executive counsel Angelique Freel, according to records obtained by the Times-Picayune.

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“We can’t look at these proposed investments as always being positive,” said Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who is among the few Senators who declined to sign an NDA. “How do we ask the tough questions if we’re under these restrictions?”

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Rep. Joy Walters, D-Shreveport, said LED offered her an NDA last year to learn more about economic development deals in her district, including projects by the rapper 50 Cent, who has invested in Shreveport in recent years.


Then her constituents started raising questions about a planned Amazon data center in her district. They also pushed back against her decision to sign an NDA, she said. She said her constituents felt “betrayed” by it.

In May, she asked for the NDA to be canceled, and LED’s director of legislative affairs Chris Stelly wrote back saying the contract was terminated. He added that any confidential or proprietary information LED may have shared remains subject to the NDA for another year.

“My district feels strongly they do not want me to be under an NDA,” Walters said. “They don’t want any elected officials to be under an NDA.”
Sen. Hodges, R-Denham Springs, said in a statement that she “was told that in order to have a seat at the table to represent my constituents” about economic development deals, she would need to sign an NDA.


“But what I heard back from the voters was that they prefer transparency — so of course, I withdrew my consent to the NDA,” she said. “I will always try and do my best to represent my constituents and what is best for them.”

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