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In December 2024, Meta announced its decision to locate a $10 billion AI Optimization Center in Northeast Louisiana, in Richland Parish, a milestone that has placed the state squarely in the national competition for data centers and AI-driven investment. Louisiana has since enacted a new data center sales and use tax exemption, aligning itself with aggressive incentive policies emerging across the country. The development is expected to be Meta’s largest data center in the world, spanning roughly 2,250 acres with approximately 4 million square feet of data center and support facilities at full build-out.

Louisiana Economic Development (LED) has advanced several important initiatives that will shape economic development activity across the state in 2025 and beyond. LED recently submitted its Summary Report to the Louisiana Legislative oversight committees regarding the proposed rules for the new High Impact Jobs Program (HIP), originally published in the Louisiana Register on August 20, 2025. These rules are scheduled for review by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget on November 20, 2025.

LED also issued emergency rules on October 30, 2025, establishing the operational framework for the Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund, which powers the state’s new FastSites Program. The FastSites Program is designed to accelerate the development of market-ready sites across Louisiana by directing state resources toward strategic land and infrastructure improvements. The first tranche of applications is now open and will be accepted until December 15, 2025. LED and its third-party evaluators will review submissions in late December and January, with funding awards anticipated in February 2026.

Colorado – Colorado became the first state to address the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill. In a six-day special session, the legislature enacted a few measures to offset the projected budget deficit attributable in part to the OBBA. These measures include: H.B. 25B-1001, which removed the sunset date for the qualified business deduction add back; H.B. 25B-1002, which added five countries to the tax-haven list and amended foreign-derived deduction-eligible income; and H.B. 25B-1005, which eliminates the sales tax vendor’s fee beginning January 1, 2026. To review the bills, see Colorado 2025 Special Session Bills.

In our last two updates, we discussed how state legislatures throughout the country have felt pressure to address the ongoing property tax revolt that has resulted from surging residential values, local budget concerns, and ultimately higher property tax bills. We also discussed how taxpayers have the right and the opportunity to directly address their property valuation with the local appraiser/assessor via the open property roll review and appeal process. With current year property values now more or less set, local jurisdictions are nearing final calculations regarding the current year millages/tax rates needed to fund local budgets, given the tax base and to hold formal hearings to discuss those budgets and millages/tax rate adjustments.