Texas Comptroller Don Huffines is a leader of Huffines Enterprises Science & Technology, or HEST, a Dallas-based investment firm that lists Elon Musk's SpaceX among its investments, according to the Texas Tribune. The Tribune reported that Huffines did not disclose this role on the personal financial disclosure form he filed in February. State law requires candidates and officials to list executive roles in businesses they hold.
The comptroller's office, which Huffines has led since July, administers two tax breaks worth more than $1 billion to SpaceX and an affiliate. The Tribune reported that those awards were made before Huffines took office. A state filing signed in September lists Huffines as manager of the firm, along with his son Colin Huffines. A website archive showed Huffines listed as president in early February, but the firm's management page has been offline since at least March.
A spokesperson for Huffines' campaign did not respond to questions about whether he is still president or why the page is offline. Campaign spokesperson Allen Blakemore said Huffines "holds no personal ownership interest in HEST or SpaceX, and has received no income from either entity." Huffines won the Republican primary in March and faces Democrat Sarah Eckhardt in November.