Texas Comptroller Don Huffines serves as a leader of Huffines Enterprises Science & Technology, or HEST, a Dallas-based investment firm launched in 2022, the report said. The firm's website lists SpaceX as one of nine companies in its portfolio. The private market tracker Pitchbook also notes that the firm invests in SpaceX, but the amount is not public. Huffines did not disclose the arrangement on the personal financial disclosure form he filed in February, even though state law requires candidates and officials to detail executive roles in businesses they hold, according to the report.
A September state filing for the firm lists Huffines as manager, according to comptroller's office records. His son Colin is also listed as manager. An archived version of the firm's website from early February listed Huffines as president. That page has been down since at least March. Another son, Russell, was listed as vice president. The report said the comptroller's office administers two tax breaks worth more than $1 billion to SpaceX and an affiliate. Those were awarded before Huffines took office.
Huffines campaign spokesperson Allen Blakemore said Huffines "holds no personal ownership interest in HEST or SpaceX, and has received no income from either entity." The campaign did not respond to questions about whether Huffines is still president or why the web page is offline. The report noted that state law does not require income from a business for it to be listed on disclosure forms. A 2023 legislative effort to limit reporting to compensated positions did not pass. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Huffines in July, and Huffines faces Democrat Sarah Eckhardt in the November election for comptroller.