LED touts $94 billion in announced investment as lawmakers probe FAST Sites, SSBCI and NDAs

Chaz Nichols of Senate Fiscal Services opened the department budget review on March 16, saying Louisiana Economic Development’s FY27 request reflects structural consolidation and technical carryforward adjustments. "Once you back out the carry forwards net adjustment there, your total statewide adjustments net out right at 906,000 net increase," Nichols said.

Secretary Susan Bourgeois told the Finance Committee the department’s reorganization and recent legislation have helped attract what she said is "now almost $94,000,000,000" in announced capital investment to Louisiana, representing thousands of potential jobs. Bourgeois described two major programs created in the 2025 session: the High Impact Jobs Program (Act 372), which she said is being funded in FY27 at a level tentatively set near $75 million, and the FAST Sites site‑investment fund (Act 365), where the legislature deposited $150 million and LED has announced about $140 million in awards to 19 projects.

Those announcements prompted detailed questions from senators about what the agency counts as "potential jobs" and whether the tallies include construction, direct hire and indirect multiplier estimates. Bourgeois answered that the figure is a mix of temporary construction, direct employer hires and indirect jobs tied to economic multipliers. "So there's direct and indirect. Direct are the ones the company themselves will hire and guarantee based on the incentives we give them. Indirect are the ones that our economic analysis looks at," she said.

Members also pressed LED on how FAST Sites awards were chosen. Bourgeois and Deputy CFO Anne Villa said the FAST Sites process required competitive applications with two mandatory letters of support (a local House and Senate member and the regional economic development organization). Applications were scored on feasibility, timing and documented payback to the fund; Bourgeois said the agency received roughly $350 million in requests and funded about $140 million. She added that every award must include a documented payback mechanism so the site fund can revolve.

Senators asked how LED is using State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) federal funds for startups and what due diligence looks like. Villa explained that the Louisiana Opportunity Fund is LED’s locally marketed vehicle for the federal SSBCI round‑two money, administered in partnership with private funds that match federal dollars. "We partner with existing funds and there's private sector money that matches the public money," Villa said, adding LED does annual audits of the funds and will provide investment lists to legislators on request.

Committee members also raised transparency questions about nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) the department asks legislators to sign in order to share confidential company information during site recruitment. Bourgeois defended the practice as industry standard: "There isn't an economic development organization in this country that isn't operating without NDAs," she said, and described a general NDA the department asks members to sign so they may provide local knowledge without jeopardizing proprietary company information.

What happens next: no appropriations were voted at the hearing. Committee members asked LED to provide more detailed lists of SSBCI recipients and the breakdown of jobs counted as "potential." LED staff said they will circulate the supporting slides and provide additional data to the committee.

Sources: presentation and exchanges with Chaz Nichols (Senate Fiscal Services), Susan Bourgeois (Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development) and Anne Villa (Deputy Secretary/CFO, LED) during the March 16, 2026 Senate Finance Committee hearing.