BATON ROUGE — A handful of state legislators are trying to get out of the nondisclosure agreements that Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration has used for negotiations with companies that receive large tax breaks from the state, The Advocate reports.

Some 77% of state Senators have reportedly signed nondisclosure agreements at the request of Louisiana Economic Development, the state agency tasked with courting companies to do business in the state. Further, at least 14 of 105 House members, including several committee chairs and Speaker Phillip Devillier, have signed NDAs regarding the potential deals.

Republican state Senators Bill Wheat, Valarie Hodges and Bob Hensgens have requested for their NDAs to be terminated, according to emails and records recently obtained by The Times-Picayune | The Advocate. Democratic state Rep. Joy Walters has also asked LED to terminate her NDA after she received pushback from her constituents, who are concerned about a data center being built in their region.

The Landry’s administration's use of NDAs to help facilitate and negotiate economic development deals have drawn ire from both residents and advocacy groups, some of whom have filed suit over the agreements.

Hensgens told The Advocate that he declined LED’s offer earlier this year to sign an NDA about a potential deal for an aerospace company in Vermilion Parish. Major aerospace companies Blue Origin and SpaceX have been named as reportedly exploring a deal in his area.

After declining to sign, state officials reportedly told Hensgens he was already under a “blanket” NDA that LED offered to all state Senators last year. He has asked LED to terminate that NDA.