In a shocking twist for anyone who thinks the Texas Constitution is just a suggestion, an Austin judge has officially told acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock to sit down and behave. On Monday, Judge Amy Meachum issued a temporary injunction blocking the state’s bold (and by “bold,” I mean “legally questionable”) move to kick women and minorities out of the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program.
Apparently, Hancock decided that since the Legislature failed to kill the program last year, he’d just do it himself using “emergency powers.” Because nothing says “state of emergency” like 14,500 small businesses having the audacity to bid on state contracts. His little stunt shrank the program from over 15,000 participants to a measly 500, effectively nuking a system that handled over $4 billion in contracts in 2024.
The lawsuit, filed by a handful of business owners who actually like making money, points out the glaringly obvious: the Comptroller’s job is to balance the checkbook, not to play God with state statutes. While Hancock is busy posturing for a GOP primary by claiming he’s “leveling the playing field,” actual business owners are watching $1 million bids evaporate into thin air because their certifications were deleted overnight.
It’s the classic Texas political playbook: scream about “small government” while using the heavy hand of the executive branch to bypass the people we actually elected to write the laws. Hancock claims he’s just following a 2025 executive order and a Supreme Court ruling, but the court seems to think he’s mostly just following his own ego into a legal woodchipper.
If we’re going to redefine “emergency” to include “programs I personally dislike,” can we at least start with the state of the potholes on 19th Street or the fact that it’s somehow still dusty in Lubbock even when it rains?
Since when did “conservative values” include letting one unelected guy in Austin decide which 97% of businesses are suddenly invisible to the state?
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