Ban Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs) in Economic Development

NDAs are secrecy contracts signed between a data center developer and local governments that prohibit the government from sharing information about the data center development deal with the broader public. These are widely used in data center development—in Virginia, 25 out of 31 localities with an existing, approved, or proposed data center had an NDA—and impede the public’s ability to make informed decisions about their community. States should pass laws prohibiting the localities from entering into NDAs with data center developers.

Examples

New York, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois have introduced legislation banning the use of NDAs in economic development projects, but no legislation has passed as of writing.