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Senate rejects NDA ban for data‑center deals; progressive design‑build language advanced but laid over
Summary
An amendment that would have barred public bodies from signing nondisclosure agreements with data‑center developers failed on the Senate floor after partisan debate. Separately the Senate moved forward a progressive design‑build bill with a lowered project threshold and a 10‑year sunset; sponsor later placed the bill on the informal calendar for additional work.
An amendment offered by the senator from the eleventh would have prohibited public governmental bodies from entering nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements with data centers that receive public benefits or incentives. The sponsor argued the change was needed to restore public transparency after local officials told constituents they were unable to see contracts and tax‑abatement terms for a large incoming data center in that senator’s district: "I've been furious because ... they weren't able to get any information," the senator said on the floor.
Opponents cautioned a wholesale ban on confidentiality agreements could hinder municipalities’ ability to negotiate economic development deals, noting nondisclosure terms are used across a broad range of industries; some senators urged broader, rather than sector‑specific, reforms. The NDA ban amendment failed on the floor (the presiding officer recorded that the "noes have it").
The Senate also debated a separate committee substitute for House Bill 24‑74 to permit progressive (phased) design‑build procurement for certain public projects. Sponsors agreed a compromise lowered the threshold to $2.5 million to widen access for smaller communities and accepted a 10‑year sunset amendment to force a future legislative reexamination. Floor questioning probed the bill’s cooperative‑purchasing language and whether progressive design‑build could be used to qualify projects for sustainability or green‑incentive funding; some senators expressed wariness about tying procurement rules to external environmental grant programs. The sponsor later asked that the bill be placed on the informal calendar to allow additional work.
Key floor votes and outcomes: Senate failed to adopt the NDA‑ban amendment (voice/recorded: noes have it); the progressive design‑build substitute was amended (threshold and sunset) and then laid on the informal calendar for follow‑up.
