Huffines Bars Contractors Tied to Convicted Traffickers From Comptroller Contracts and Grants

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced an executive order Thursday barring any entity with financial participation by a convicted human trafficking offender from receiving a contract or grant from his office.

Under the order, every contractor and grantee must certify eligibility under Texas Government Code Section 2155.0061. That law bars financial participation by anyone convicted in the preceding five years of an offense related to the direct support or promotion of human trafficking.

Contractors and grantees must also acknowledge that the agency may withhold payment or end 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.

Closing the grant gap

State law already applied the bar to state contracts, but not to grants, according to the comptroller’s release. The order writes the certification into all future contracts and grants the office administers.

“Zero tolerance means zero tolerance,” Huffines said.

The order follows three others this month. On October 13, Huffines banned the use of comptroller grant money for Flock cameras and other license plate readers. On October 15 he barred taxpayer dollars for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, and on October 21 he barred businesses that demand COVID-19 vaccine passports from comptroller contracts and grants.

His office says more standard terms will be announced in the coming weeks.