Since taking office, NDAs have become a fixture of Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration. So much so that the governor hand-signed one himself.
Records obtained by the Gulf States Newsroom show Landry personally executed a "Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement" on April 23, 2024, on behalf of the "Office of the Governor," with Laidley LLC, the data center subsidiary of Meta Platforms, a private, California-based tech company worth trillions of dollars.
Click here to view and download Jeff Landry's NDA with Laidley LLC
While the company name has been redacted from the document, it was produced as part of a public records request from the Gulf States Newsroom and Type Investigations regarding discussions between the state and Meta, including Laidley LLC, the shell company Meta used during negotiations around Hyperion — the $50 billion data center campus in Richland Parish.
What the NDA covers
The agreement's definition of "Confidential Information" is broad, covering "proposed terms," "pricing information," "financial information" and other deal specifics. Landry’s office did not respond to requests for comment, but “proposed terms” and financial information could cover discussions related to tax incentives and state investment — public money.
The document also treats its own existence as a secret. The agreement states that "Confidential Information also includes the existence of this Agreement and the fact or nature of the discussions between the parties."
A publicity clause bars either side from making "any public announcement or other disclosures" about the agreement or the relationship without the other's written approval — including statements to reporters, blogs, trade publications or "any other public audience."
Elsewhere, the agreement allows disclosures required by law, such as under Louisiana's public records statute, but only if the recipient "makes commercially reasonable efforts" to limit that disclosure and seeks a protective order to block it.
The agreement is governed by New York law, runs for five years after the relationship ends — indefinitely for trade secrets — and either side can terminate it with 30 days' written notice.
'Hiding information from the public’
David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida, reviewed the agreement and said several provisions concerned him.
Requiring the government to make "diligent efforts to limit" disclosures otherwise required under public records law, he said, "turns public record laws on their head." The requirement to seek a protective order effectively means hauling people who exercise their right to request public records into court — "which is chilling."
Cuillier said the agreement's publicity clause "muzzles government officials from talking," while also giving the company "veto power over any public announcements the agency might want to make."
He distinguished the agreement from ordinary trade-secret protections, which Louisiana law already allows agencies to withhold from public records requests.
"What this NDA seems to do is extend that to speech and other forms of communication," Cuillier said. "It muzzles the government and hides critical information from the public."
The clause protecting the existence of the agreement itself, he said, "is even more reprehensible,” and "seeks to hide the fact that it is hiding information from the public."
"Corporations should not be able to dictate what the public knows or doesn't know about how their tax dollars are spent, or about significant projects that affect their quality of life," Cuillier said. "These NDAs serve only the companies — not the people — and should not be allowed."
Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan Louisiana government watchdog, said agreements like this one aren't inherently improper, but their growing use is worth watching.
"NDAs can serve a legitimate purpose in economic development, but they should be the exception, not the default," Procopio said. "As their use becomes more widespread, we risk denying citizens the information they need to understand government decisions and hold public officials accountable."
Cuillier said he wasn't aware of research examining how commonly governors sign NDAs with private companies elsewhere in the country.
"I think there is a good chance they have been employed around the country but yet to be exposed," he said.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
