Relates to prohibiting the use of nondisclosure agreements to prevent disclosure of information relating to environmental and health impacts of certain infrastructure and energy development projects
This bill would prohibit nondisclosure agreements and confidentiality provisions from being used to silence parties from discussing matters of public concern tied to certain large-scale infrastructure and energy projects. The covered topics include environmental impacts, water use, electrical demand, utility-ratepayer impacts, public infrastructure obligations, tax abatements or subsidies, noise, land use, and public health and safety concerns. The bill applies to projects such as utility-scale solar facilities, wind projects, battery energy storage systems, cryptocurrency mining facilities, AI computing facilities, data centers, and other large energy-intensive developments.
The measure also bars threats to enforce unlawful confidentiality provisions and makes waivers of these protections void. It creates civil penalties for violations, enforceable by affected individuals or the attorney general, with higher penalties for willful or intentional violations. In addition, it requires public disclosure of records, reports, correspondence, agreements, and contracts involving utilities, infrastructure upgrades, special rate arrangements, or public subsidies connected to Public Service Commission actions on the covered projects.
The bill would amend the General Obligation Law by adding a new section that renders certain NDAs and confidentiality clauses void and unenforceable as against public policy, and it would amend the Public Service Law to require transparency for records and agreements related to specified energy and infrastructure projects. It would affect utilities, developers, contractors, consultants, landowners, municipal officials, and other parties involved in siting, approval, development, or operation of the covered projects, while preserving protections for legitimate trade secrets, cybersecurity information, proprietary engineering information, and competitively sensitive business data unrelated to project impacts.
Based on the bill text and available context, the bill appears to be framed as a transparency and public-interest measure, with no recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials. Its stated purpose suggests support for public disclosure and participation in discussions about major energy and infrastructure developments, especially where NDAs may have limited community awareness or oversight. The absence of transcripts or vote history means there is no documented opposition or endorsement in the supplied record beyond the bill’s pro-transparency design.
The main point of contention is the balance between transparency and confidentiality. Supporters would likely favor the bill’s ability to prevent NDAs from suppressing discussion of environmental, health, and financial impacts, while opponents may argue that the bill could expose sensitive business information or complicate project negotiations. The bill tries to address that concern by carving out exceptions for trade secrets, cybersecurity information, proprietary engineering information, and competitively sensitive business data unrelated to project impacts.