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Some La. lawmakers backing out of NDAs
State pitches nuclear waste initiative Louisiana offers salt domes as waste storage location
BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer
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. Some First Amendment advocates and scholars criticize the broad use of nondisclosure agreements, saying they raise questions about whether the public is being kept in the dark as state officials promise companies billions in public money. “If you send me to Baton Rouge to gain information, I should be able to tell the public what information I’ve gained,”
Louisiana has pitched the federal government on a plan to store nuclear waste beneath the Gulf, part of a broader effort to attract nuclear development and power massive new data-center projects in the state. The federal initiative, called the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses program, pairs states willing to store nuclear waste with potential federal support for new nuclear projects, including for power generation and manufacturing. Louisiana was one of five states selected as program finalists on Tuesday, out of 26 states that applied. All of the states selected as finalists — the others are Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Idaho — are led by Republican governors. The state told the federal Department of Energy that Louisiana is a prime location for the development of next-generation nuclear energy and the storage of nuclear waste, noting that huge amounts of additional nuclear power will be necessary due to the surge in energy demand from data centers. Gov. Jeff Landry celebrated the state’s advancement as a finalist for the program, and Chris Wright, the secretary of the Department of Energy, said the state or states selected would benefit from of massive economic growth, thousands of jobs, and would be “crucial to unleashing America’s nuclear renaissance.” “Louisiana shares the President’s vision for nuclear power and America’s energy future,” Landry said in a statement. “We appreciate Secretary Wright’s leadership and the opportunity provided by the
ä See LAWMAKERS, page 4A
ä See NUCLEAR, page 4A
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JILL PICKETT
Kevin Janda, center, Meta director of data center strategy, speaks with Gov. Jeff Landry and others after an event in 2024 to announce plans for a data center in Richland Parish. Lawmakers have been asked to sign nondisclosure agreements by Louisiana Economic Development as it conducts negotiations to attract companies to the state.
Administration says agreements vital to secure big economic deals; legislators report community pushback on secrecy, other concerns BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
Facing pressure from voters, some 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.
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
Fauci doesn’t answer questions by senators
Body of Lake Charles sailor returning home the Japanese attack Joseph Conner during on Pearl Harbor, killing 58 members. died during attack crew For decades, Conner’s reon Pearl Harbor mains were buried with 13
other “unknowns” from the Staff writer USS Utah at the National After more than 80 years, Memorial a Lake Charles sailor killed Cemetery of in the attack on Pearl Harthe Pacific bor is returning home to in Hawaii. southwest Louisiana. Conner Now, his Lake Charles native and U.S. Navy Fireman 1st Class remains are returning to Joseph Conner was 26 when Lake Charles, where he will he died aboard the USS Utah be buried Saturday at Prien during the Dec. 7, 1941, at- Memorial Park with full miltack on Pearl Harbor. itary honors. The USS Utah, a battleship ä See SAILOR, page 4A used for training, capsized
he received a pardon in He will face contempt Though early 2025 from Democratic PresiJoe Biden, some Republicans vote after invoking dent pursuing a yearslong campaign for Fifth Amendment his arrest had suggested he could
BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN
WEATHER HIGH 94 LOW 79 PAGE 6A
still face charges for any perjury committed during Wednesday’s hearing. The scientist, who helped lead Associated Press the nation’s COVID-19 response, WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci was subpoenaed to testify under on Wednesday repeatedly invoked oath by Republican Sen. Rand the Fifth Amendment and declined Paul of Kentucky, who has long to answer dozens of questions had an antagonistic relationship from senators in a Republican-led with Fauci. In response to angry, sometimes committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. mocking questions from RepubThe decision, at least for now, lican senators, Fauci declined shielded Fauci from answering to answer more than 100 times, questions that could expose him ä See FAUCI, page 4A to accusations of lying under oath.
BY LAURAN NEERGAARD and ALI SWENSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Dr. Anthony Fauci is sworn in before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment and declined to answer dozens of questions from senators.
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