BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana Economic Development announced new requirements for data center companies to receive tax breaks.

In the announcement, Landry said the state will now refer to the facilities as "digital factories," although the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption will keep its name.

"The completion of the framework comes as the industry itself continues to evolve. These facilities increasingly support the computing demands of super intelligence while producing a broad range of digital goods and services," LED said for the reasoning behind the new name.

The announcement includes new stipulations to the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption. 

Now, LED officials say, the exemption framework will require companies to show commitment to preventing increased costs for ratepayers, strengthening grid reliability, protecting natural resources, and investing in local workforces.

"Under President Trump’s leadership, America is entering a new era of digital infrastructure, and Louisiana is leading the way," Landry said. "This framework ensures we remain at the forefront of the age of digital factories and super intelligence while protecting our citizens and communities. We have set the standard for how states can pursue these opportunities responsibly and put their people first.”

The tax exemptions will be an invitation-only program for "prospective companies prepared to make significant, long-term commitments to Louisiana."

Some opponents argue the specifics need to be clearer.

"This doesn't really outline any specifics; it doesn't really tell us if there are particular job requirements, a certain number of jobs that would be required, it doesn't specify how much funding is required for a meaningful quote-unquote relationship to exist between a higher education institution and a proposed data center," Senior Government Affairs and Policy Advisor with Alliance for Affordable Energy Jackson Voss said. 

Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis said a moratorium should be implemented until state rules are established for data center locations.

"What this executive order does, once again, is it gives a fast track to data centers while leaving the people in the communities out on a limb, not knowing, if or when, or what's been promised to a company before they make their public announcement that they're coming here," Lewis said. 

The reframed exemptions require applicants to submit a "detailed attestation" outlining how they will meet the state's requirements, LED said.

"Louisiana Economic Development will utilize a whole-of-government approach to coordinate with state agencies and local partners to evaluate each submission," LED said.

The announcement also referred to artificial intelligence as "super intelligence," a reframing that President Donald Trump has pushed for recently.

"Digital factories power the age of super intelligence and are central to America’s competition for advanced computing and digital infrastructure," the announcement said.