Comptroller Huffines Bars Entities Tied to Convicted Traffickers from Comptroller Contracts and Grants
(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Don Huffines today announced an executive order barring any entity with financial participation by a convicted human‑trafficking offender from receiving a Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts contract or grant.
Under the order, every contractor and grantee must certify that it is eligible under Texas Government Code Section 2155.0061, which bars financial participation by any person who, in the preceding five years, has been convicted of an offense related to the direct support or promotion of human trafficking, and must acknowledge that the agency may withhold payment or terminate the agreement immediately if the certification is inaccurate.
“Human trafficking is pure evil, and Texas will not allow a single dollar of public money to flow to anyone connected to it,” Huffines said. “The government’s first duty is to defend the innocent. No agency, no nonprofit, no contractor should ever benefit from state funding if the organization has financial participation from someone convicted of such a horrific crime.
“Texans should never have to worry that their tax dollars are supporting criminals engaged in the exploitation of women, children, or any vulnerable person. I am humbled and honored to defend Texans’ freedoms by ensuring our state funds are used responsibly, ethically, and in full alignment with our values. Zero tolerance means zero tolerance.”
Texas law already bars a state agency from accepting a bid or awarding a contract that includes financial participation by a person who, in the preceding five years, has been convicted of any offense related to the direct support or promotion of human trafficking. That prohibition applies to state contracts but not to grants. Huffines’ executive order closes that gap by writing the eligibility certification into every contract and grant administered by the Comptroller’s office.
Under the order, contractors and grantees must certify that they:
- Are eligible to enter the agreement under Texas Government Code Section 2155.0061, meaning no person with financial participation in the entity has been convicted in the preceding five years of an offense related to the direct support or promotion of human trafficking.
- Acknowledge that the Comptroller’s office may withhold payment if the certification is inaccurate.
- Acknowledge that the Comptroller’s office may terminate the agreement immediately, without further obligation, if the certification is inaccurate.
These requirements will apply to all future contracts and grants administered by the Comptroller’s office. The agency will incorporate the human trafficking certification into all relevant solicitations and agreements going forward.
The Comptroller’s office is writing payment-withholding and immediate-termination authority into its agreements to enforce the certification.
The order follows Huffines’ Oct. 13 executive order banning the use of Comptroller grant money for Flock cameras, automated license plate readers, and other vehicle-identification systems; his Oct. 15 order barring taxpayer dollars for discriminatory Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives; and his Oct. 21 order barring businesses that demand COVID-19 vaccine passports from Comptroller contracts and grants. It is the latest in a series of new standard terms Huffines is writing into Comptroller contracts and grants to protect taxpayers and enforce Texas law. More will be announced in the coming weeks.
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