Louisiana now asks more of a data center that wants to avoid sales tax on its equipment and construction. On October 29, 2026, the governor and Louisiana Economic Development, the state agency that runs business incentives, said a new set of conditions for the program is complete. LED announcement The program is now invitation only, so a company can apply only if the agency asks it to.
What the state law already required
The program started with Act 730, a 2024 law that gave an approved data center a yearly rebate of the sales and use taxes it paid. Act 730 Sales and use tax is the tax Louisiana charges on goods bought in the state, plus a matching tax on goods bought elsewhere and used here. A second 2024 law turned the rebate into an exemption, so qualifying purchases are not taxed in the first place.
To qualify, the operator must swear the project will create at least 50 new permanent jobs in Louisiana. It must also swear it intends to invest at least $200 million in the state between July 1, 2024 and July 1, 2029. Each approved facility signs a 20 year agreement with the agency, which the agency may renew for 10 more years. The statute lets the agency write any other conditions it considers appropriate into that agreement. Louisiana Legislature If a company does not keep its commitments, the state may end the agreement and collect the taxes it skipped.
Applicants must file an attestation covering eight sets of commitments
In June 2026 the governor signed an executive order telling the agency to build conditions into the agreements made under this statute. LouisianAI policy tracker Under the result, an applicant must file an attestation, which is a detailed written statement of how it will meet eight sets of commitments. LED announcement
Electricity comes first. The company must explain how it will pay for the new power plants, power lines and other equipment the project needs. It must also show how it will keep those costs off homes and businesses already on the grid. Center Square Each company sets its own measurable commitments and reports its progress to the agency for the life of the project.
The other topics are grid reliability, the local workforce and the local tax base. They also include water and other natural resources, investment in the host community, ties to Louisiana startups and research, and transparency. LouisianAI brief
| Point | Before October 29 | After October 29 |
|---|---|---|
| Who may apply | Any data center seeking approval | Only companies the agency invites |
| What the company swears to | 50 jobs and $200 million in investment | Those floors plus a detailed statement on eight topics |
| Power costs | No condition in the statute | Must show project costs stay off existing customers |
| Who reviews | The agency | The agency with energy, utility and environmental regulators and the power supplier |
| Progress reports | Not set by the statute | Company reports its own measurable commitments to the agency |
Before the agency decides, the state energy department, the Public Service Commission, the environmental agency and the planned power supplier all give input. LED announcement The Public Service Commission is the elected body that sets utility rates, and the agency says the framework does not change that. Any utility plan to build new plants or recover their cost still needs the commission’s approval. Center Square
What the framework leaves open
The 17 page application, dated October 7, asks for expected power demand, investment, jobs and water use. It sets no uniform financial penalty for a broken promise. It also does not say how often a company must report. Center Square
An advisor with a consumer group said the framework sets no required number of jobs and no funding level for a university partnership. WBRZ The Department of Revenue has said it cannot estimate what the exemption will cost, because the program has no past data to measure. Shreveport Times
Projects that already have the exemption
The governor and the agency have not said publicly whether the new conditions apply to companies that already signed agreements. NOLA column Large projects are among them. In a statement reported in July 2026, an agency spokeswoman said the Meta, Amazon, Applied Digital and Hut 8 projects had applied and been granted the exemption. LouisianAI
The statute lets the agency put conditions into an agreement. It does not say the agency may add conditions to an agreement that is already signed. Louisiana Legislature The agreements those projects signed run 20 years, and earlier reporting noted the new criteria may arrive too late for projects already certified. For those projects, the state’s remedy remains the one the statute always gave, which is ending the agreement and collecting the skipped taxes.
Tomorrow’s topic
The NYISO large load interconnection proposal and its state exempt provision.