Texas Comptroller Omits Venture Firm Tied to SpaceX From Financial Disclosure

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines did not list his role as a leader of a venture capital firm that invests in SpaceX on his personal financial disclosure form. The state form, filed in February, is required for candidates and elected officials to detail executive business roles. Huffines has managed the firm, Huffines Enterprises Science & Technology, or HEST, since its launch in 2022. The omission leaves a gap in the public record of his business interests while he oversees state tax breaks for a company in that firm's portfolio.

HEST is a Dallas-based private equity firm connected to Huffines Communities, a real estate empire co-founded by Huffines and his twin brother, Phillip. A state filing signed in September, after Huffines took office, lists him and his son, Colin Huffines, as managers of the LLC. The firm's website previously identified Huffines as president and his son Russell as vice president. That specific web page has been offline since March, shortly after Huffines submitted his financial statement. A campaign spokesperson did not clarify whether Huffines retains the title or why the page was removed.

The firm lists SpaceX as one of nine companies in its portfolio. Pitchbook, a private market tracker, also confirms the investment, though the dollar amount is not public. The comptroller's office, which Huffines has led since July, administers two tax breaks worth more than a billion dollars to SpaceX and an affiliate. These incentives were awarded before his appointment, but his office continues to monitor compliance and can revoke agreements if requirements are not met.

Huffines won the Republican primary for the comptroller seat in March. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed him to the interim position in July after acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock stepped down. He faces Democrat Sarah Eckhardt on the November ballot. The comptroller serves as the state's chief financial officer, overseeing contracts, tax collection, and revenue estimates.

Allen Blakemore, a campaign spokesperson, said Huffines holds no personal ownership interest in HEST or SpaceX and has received no income from either. Blakemore stated that Huffines has not approved or influenced any incentives for entities with which he has financial involvement since taking office. He emphasized that all SpaceX incentives were approved before Huffines was sworn in.

Andy Cates, a political lawyer and ethics expert, said the timing of the approvals is irrelevant to the disclosure requirement. Cates noted that being a manager of a family firm is a holding that must be disclosed regardless of when the business impact began. He explained that the purpose of the forms is to allow citizens to evaluate potential conflicts of interest. Cates added that recent failures by politicians to include information have made the public skeptical, often assuming omissions are intentional.

The comptroller's office approved eight tax incentive agreements with TeraFab AI, a special-purpose entity linked to SpaceX. The project, a collaboration between SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla, aims to build the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing facility. The state will exempt TeraFab from nearly $1.7 billion in local school maintenance and operations taxes through 2046, assuming all four phases are built. SpaceX is also set to receive up to $11.25 million in tax breaks for three projects, including the Starbase city and a Starlink campus expansion in Bastrop County.

State law makes it a crime to knowingly fail to file a disclosure form, but it does not impose an automatic penalty for omissions. Any Texas resident can file a sworn complaint for investigation. The state ethics commission can dismiss a complaint or impose a fine if a violation is found. The highest penalty ever levied was a $100,000 fine against Judge Sharon Keller for failing to include income sources over four years. SpaceX representatives did not respond to requests for comment.