Dear Acting Comptroller Hancock:
We write to express deep concern regarding your office’s December 2 announcement effectively eliminating longstanding components of the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program. As you know, the HUB program was created by the Texas Legislature and reaffirmed repeatedly over three decades with broad bipartisan support. The sweeping changes announced, removing women and racial and ethnic minority group members from eligibility, exceed the authority granted to the office of comptroller and undermine the Legislature’s clear intent.
Framing HUB as “race- and sex-based preferences” fundamentally misstates the program’s statutory purpose. The Legislature established HUB to address documented barriers that historically underrepresented business owners have faced, such as discriminatory financing and investment, that hindered success for businesses owned and operated by marginalized groups. The program also directed the State of Texas to play an active role in correcting these inequities by creating goals, not quotas, for the state to increase contracting with HUB-certified businesses. The foundation of the HUB program has always been to increase transparency, expand competition, and ensure economic opportunity for business owners across Texas.
The restructuring also introduces a new program, Veteran Heroes United in Business (VetHUB), which restricts participation to veterans with a “20 percent or higher service-connected disability” to receive the VetHUB designation. According to a March 2025 Report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 31 percent of all veterans nationwide have any service-related disability. Under this change, many veteran-owned businesses that previously qualified for HUB certification, and were thriving because of it, are now excluded. While MALC members strongly support legislative efforts to expand opportunities for Texas veterans, the narrow eligibility requirements of VetHUB sharply limit, rather than broaden, access.
Equally concerning is the method by which these changes were enacted. The principle of separation of powers demands each branch’s actions remain limited to what is “expressly permitted” by the Texas Constitution. See Fin. Comm’n of Tex. v. Norwood, 418 S.W.3d 566, 570 (Tex. 2014) (“Exceptions to the constitutionally mandated separation of powers are never to be implied in the least; they must be ‘expressly permitted’ by the Constitution itself.”) (quoting TEX. CONST. art. II, § 1). As members of the Legislature, we hold the exclusive authority to enact and revise laws of this state. Nowhere does the Constitution grant the Comptroller authority to unilaterally repeal or rewrite statutory programs. Modifying legislative directives through internal memoranda exceeds the powers of the Executive Branch and risks destabilizing the balance of authority between branches of government.
This action also creates significant uncertainty for state agencies and hundreds of Texas businesses that rely on the HUB program for predictable procurement practices and long-term planning. Removing longstanding eligibility categories without legislative action undermines competitiveness, transparency, and the economic health of communities across our state.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge your office to reverse course immediately. The Legislature alone holds the power to create or modify state law, and the HUB program remains a statutory requirement unless and until the Legislature acts. We ask that your office withdraw the December 2 guidance and affirm to state agencies and institutions of higher education that existing HUB obligations remain fully in effect.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Editor's Note: The above letter was sent to Kelly Hancock, the acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, on December 9, 2025 by 32 members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. The 32 were:
State Representative Ramón Romero, Jr., Chair, Mexican American Legislative Caucus
State Representative Erin E. Gámez, Vice Chair, Mexican American Legislative Caucus
State Representative Armando “Mando” Martinez, Secretary, Mexican American Legislative Caucus
State Representative Armando Walle, Legal Counsel, Mexican American Legislative Caucus
State Representative Mary Ann Perez, Treasurer, Mexican American Legislative Caucus
State Representative Rafael Anchia
State Representative Diego M. Bernal
State Representative Elizabeth “Liz” Campos
State Representative Terry Canales
State Representative Lulu Flores
State Representative Josey Garcia
State Representative Linda Garcia
State Representative Cassandra Garcia Hernandez
State Representative Jessica Gonzalez
State Representative Mary E. González
State Representative R.D. “Bobby” Guerra
State Representative Ana Hernandez
State Representative Venton Jones
State Representative Oscar Longoria
State Representative Ray Lopez
State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer
State Representative Terry Meza
State Representative Joe Moody
State Representative Christina Morales
State Representative Eddie Morales
State Representative Penny Morales Shaw
State Representative Sergio Muñoz Jr.
State Representative Claudia Ordaz
State Representative Richard Peña Raymond
State Representative Vincent Perez
State Representative Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos
State Representative Gene Wu
