Nondisclosure agreements; prohibiting state and local government entities from entering certain agreements. Effective date.
Summary
SB 1215 would prohibit state governmental entities and public trusts with the state as beneficiary from entering into nondisclosure agreements that prevent disclosure of the terms of agreements involving state tax dollars. The bill applies to arrangements where the state provides an incentive, tax credit, direct or indirect payment, grant, or similar benefit to a private entity and seeks to stop contracts from hiding the basic terms of those deals from public view.
The bill also creates an exception for proprietary business information. Even if the state cannot agree to keep the overall deal terms secret, it would not be required to disclose trade secrets or other sensitive for-profit business information, including input costs, labor costs, and profit margins, when that information has been provided by or on behalf of the business entity.
Impact
If enacted, SB 1215 would add a new section to Title 62 of the Oklahoma Statutes and limit the ability of state agencies and state-beneficiary public trusts to use confidentiality clauses in economic development and similar incentive agreements. It would increase transparency around the use of state taxes for incentives, grants, and related benefits, while preserving protection for proprietary commercial information supplied by private businesses.
Sentiment
The available legislative context suggests the bill is aimed at transparency and accountability in government incentive agreements, with no recorded committee debate or votes showing opposition or support. Its referral to the Economic Development, Workforce and Tourism committee indicates it is being considered in the context of state economic development policy, where transparency measures are often viewed favorably but can raise concerns from entities that prefer confidentiality in negotiated incentive packages.
Contention
The main point of contention is the balance between public disclosure and business confidentiality. Supporters are likely to favor disclosure of the terms of tax-funded incentive deals, while affected businesses and some economic development officials may object to limits on nondisclosure agreements if they believe confidentiality helps protect negotiations or competitive information. The bill addresses that concern by expressly exempting proprietary information such as trade secrets, costs, and profit margins from disclosure requirements.
Labor; prohibiting an employer from requiring a nondisclosure agreement from an employee relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. Effective date.