(Valley News Live) – North Dakota lawmakers rejected a push to ban the use of non-disclosure agreements between data center developers and public agencies or officials. The vote on Senate Bill 2406 came down to 32-15.
Those behind the bill say they’re ready to continue the fight.
Bill co-author says citizens will be outraged
Sen. Tim Mathern, D-North Dakota, co-authored a bill to outlaw NDAs between public officials and data center developers.
“I think the citizens will be outraged and they’re going to put the pressure on our legislators to do something about this,” Mathern said.
“No citizen that pays for government should be left in the cold.”
Mathern said North Dakota is prime territory for data centers and citizens shouldn’t be left in the dark.
“People can talk about projected ideas,” Mathern said.
“But to actually sign an agreement not to talk, that should be illegal. There should be no agreements signed by any public official to not talk. The citizens have a right to know what’s going on in their neighborhood. What’s going on in their city, what’s going on in their township, what’s going on in their county. Non-disclosure agreements keep citizens out of the know.”
Agriculture commissioner candidate backs ban
Agriculture Commissioner candidate Vern Thompson is also pushing to outlaw the NDAs.
“People that are proposing from the industry, they are very forward looking as far as estimates and how much benefit it’s going to be,” Thompson said.
“There’s nothing in writing. We’re risking, in my view, we’re risking the taxpayer’s money because we already have invested in data centers as taxpayers.”
Mathern and Thompson say they’re ready for a fight.
“I plan on meeting with the data center people in the near future,” Thompson said.
“Have a face-to-face, and talk about what you’re going to do upfront? They do spend some money after the fact and that’s nice, nobody is going to dispute that. But how about a clear understanding upfront. That’s what we need.”
Governor addressed NDAs ahead of special session
Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong addressed NDAs earlier this week ahead of the special session.
“There is no elected official, nobody in this room, nobody in the executive branch, nobody at a county level, nobody at a city commission, nobody from the school board, that can get past the open records laws in North Dakota by signing a nondisclosure agreement,” Armstrong said.
Lawmaker points to Ellendale as example
Lawmakers are expected to wrap up the special session tomorrow.
Rep. Austen Schauer, who represents District 13 in West Fargo, said in a statement, he supports data centers:
