In a bold assertion of constitutional fidelity, Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock has suspended new certifications under the state’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program—an unprecedented move against a decades-old scheme that explicitly bars white-owned firms from preferential treatment in state contracting.
Since 1991, the HUB program has required that eligible companies be more than 50% owned by black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Native Americans, service-disabled veterans or women. If you’re white, you’re automatically excluded—no matter your qualifications or record of success.
Under HUB, roughly 300 state agencies have been compelled to “make a good faith” effort to award a fixed percentage of contracts—up to 32.9% in some categories—exclusively to these designated groups. The program has steered over $4 billion in contracts toward certified businesses, including $1.45 billion for women-owned firms and $1.6 billion for Hispanic-owned companies.
“There’s no question this program discriminates against whites,” Hancock declared. “We don’t tolerate discrimination in Texas—period. Contracts must be awarded on merit, not skin color.”
Hancock’s suspension halts the inflow of new HUB certifications pending a rigorous constitutional review. He insists there must be real proof of economic disadvantage—not a blanket racial carve-out. “How do we audit that someone was economically discriminated against? It has to be more than pigmentation.”
Governor Greg Abbott’s recent executive order banning race and sex-based preferences in government benefits laid the groundwork. Now, Texas is leading a national effort to end reverse discrimination and restore genuine equal opportunity.
Critics of the old system point out its flawed metrics: agencies met numeric quotas, not performance goals. Contractors were chosen for ethnicity, not excellence. Taxpayers saw projects delayed, costs inflated, and skilled white-owned firms shut out of the bidding process.
By pressing pause on the HUB approvals, Hancock is sending a message: fairness is non-negotiable. Texas will no longer accept a state-sponsored regime that privileges some citizens over others.
This decisive action isn’t just about procurement—it’s a reaffirmation of the Equal Protection Clause and the founding principle that every Texan stands equal before the law. Other states would be wise to follow suit.
Texas has spoken: business success will be earned, not granted by racial quota. Meritocracy wins. Discrimination loses.
