A Louisiana state senator helped secure Meta’s largest datacenter. Then he sold the land beside it
Summary
Louisiana state senator John “Jay” Morris helped approve legislation and regulatory actions that allowed Meta to build a large datacenter called Hyperion. While supporting the project, Morris and his business partners bought and sold land near the site, raising questions about possible conflicts of interest under state ethics laws.Key Facts
- Senator John “Jay” Morris worked for over two years to help Meta build the Hyperion datacenter in Richland Parish, Louisiana.
- He lobbied a utility regulator, cosponsored bills to enable land deals, and voted for tax breaks worth about $3.3 billion for Meta.
- Morris and partners bought and sold land near the datacenter over 15 months, including selling land to Entergy for a power plant.
- These land deals were not disclosed publicly until the Floodlight investigation.
- Experts say his actions might violate state ethics laws that forbid officials from benefiting financially from their decisions.
- Morris denies any wrongdoing and says the tax breaks apply to all datacenters, not just Meta.
- The Hyperion datacenter covers over 3,650 acres and will use much more energy daily than New Orleans.
- Morris has become a key figure in Louisiana politics, chairing committees and sponsoring controversial bills related to election districts and court jobs.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.