BATON ROUGE - State Senators approved a bill in committee that would restrict access to certain university public records, including executive applicants, private donor information and so-called proprietary research information.

On Wednesday, State Sen. Mark Abraham spoke in front of the Senate and Governmental Affairs committee about a bill to restrict the public’s access to information at public universities.

Under current law, public records can be requested to see who has applied for top jobs, such as president or chancellor, at state universities. The new proposal would not make those names public until finalists are named.

Bill author Sen. Mark Abraham says allowing names to appear publicly could harm someone’s current position at another university.

During the 2025 LSU presidential search, search committee members were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements. The agreements required that presidential candidate names not be disclosed until select candidates formally applied for the position.

Another aspect of the bill would limit the public’s access to private donor information. For example, while donations to the Tiger Athletic Foundation (TAF) remain private, donations to the university are not. Abraham says that under the proposed law, the amount of money and how it is used would remain public.

“Maybe some people do not want you to know that they gave to the university,” Abraham said. “If they want to, that’s fine. They can sign a paper saying, ‘Let it be public.’”

Finally, Abraham wants to restrict access to “research and proprietary information”, not allowing other institutions to see what is being done. The information would be private until the institution determines that the information "no longer meets the criteria to remain private".

This comes after a Southeastern Louisiana University professor says she was removed from a leadership position after she told media outlets that pollution in Louisiana's waterways was connected to heavy industry in the area. After appealing to a university grievance committee last month, Professor Fereshteh Emami was not recommended for reinstatement. 

Commenting on the legislation, Emami's attorney William Most said in a statement that it raises serious constitutional concerns. 

"Louisiana citizens have a constitutional right to public records, and it is the people of Louisiana who own the government's information," Most said.

The Louisiana Press Association opposed the bill in committee.