Legal Services

	“Our county signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with a developer working on a project in our county. We recently received a request for information related to that project. Does the NDA prevent the disclosure of that information?”

Does an NDA prevent disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act?

NDAs will not conceal information that is subject to mandatory public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act. Counties may withhold information from disclosure only if the County has specific authority to do so, either by law or by judicial decision. TAC strongly recommends any non-disclosure agreements contain the following language or similar language to the same effect:

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to limit the obligations of the County under the Texas Public Information Act (the “Act”), Chapter 552, Texas Government Code. The parties acknowledge that information subject to disclosure under the Act must be released unless a valid exception applies and is upheld by the Texas Attorney General.

For more information, download our Economic Development Quick Guide for Commissioners Courts on the Economic Development Resources page of our website.