While he’s successful the midst of moving for a 3rd — and last — word arsenic comptroller, Glenn Hegar's illustration is fueling speculation astir whether the husbandman and erstwhile authorities legislator mightiness space for higher office. | Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
Needling planetary concern firms and national regulators, Glenn Hegar is making the astir retired of an obscure occupation successful authorities government.
The Texas comptroller, a Republican, made a nationalist sanction for himself this summertime erstwhile helium accused BlackRock, Credit Suisse and UBS of “boycotting” vigor companies and barred them from doing concern with the authorities aft legislators passed a instrumentality designed to support fossil substance businesses. Oil-and-gas producing states similar Louisiana and West Virginia person joined Texas successful a blimpish propulsion against environmental, societal and governance investing that calls for taking clime risks into account.
“To conscionable holistically accidental ‘we’re not going to put successful lipid and state and that means the satellite volition modulation to renewables successful the adjacent X magnitude of years,’ is conscionable unrealistic,” Hegar said successful a wide-ranging interrogation that discussed agrarian broadband, threading economical indicators and his ain governmental future. “It’s intellectually dishonest with radical and that’s disturbing to me.”
BlackRock has denied it boycotts fossil fuels among the trillions of dollars successful assets it manages, and has faced criticism from the left for not doing much to chopped the emissions of its portfolio.
Most comptrollers toil distant among the accountants who measurement a state’s fiscal somesthesia — arbiters of however overmuch legislators tin walk connected favored projects, taxation breaks, acquisition and infrastructure. But the fiscal ups and downs of the pandemic enactment them successful the spotlight.
Now, arsenic galore state budgets are flush with national funds and record-high taxation revenues but faced with a planetary system teetering connected recession, legislators erstwhile again crook to their comptrollers similar Hegar to archer them precisely what dollars they tin number on.
This being Texas, Hegar’s ambitions person attracted attention. While he’s successful the midst of moving for a 3rd — and last — word arsenic comptroller, his illustration is fueling speculation astir whether the husbandman and erstwhile authorities legislator mightiness space for higher office, possibly lieutenant politician oregon senator.
This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.
Let’s commencement by talking astir the unsocial fiscal presumption galore states are successful close now. State comptrollers are typically not high-profile officials. But bash you present spot an expanded relation for the occupation successful Texas and different states?
I don’t cognize if I would definitively accidental yes oregon no, but it besides benignant of puts you into the presumption of: Do you person a small much accidental successful the process?
I effort to marque definite that I enactment beforehand and halfway what are the issues I thought we arsenic a authorities request to thin to. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had a steadfast system — we’ve outperformed the nationalist mean twelvemonth aft twelvemonth with a increasing economy. But besides you’ve got much of these issues with the maturation you’ve got to woody with. So it’s a bully situation to have, but they’re challenges. Now the constituent being is, it depends connected [whether] you’ve utilized your presumption and your level arsenic a treatment topic. Luckily, thankfully, I’ve taken that vantage constituent truthful present arsenic we’re looking astatine an highly steadfast equilibrium expanse for the authorities of Texas with a precise ample currency carryover balance, present the treatment importantly changes from “Well, if we had money…” Now we got money.
One of the points I’ve tried to marque is, yes the system is highly strong, it continues to beryllium beardown close present successful Texas. But a batch of it is ostentation driven. We’re having importantly much revenues coming successful due to the fact that radical are paying much for items and truthful so we’re driving much taxation revenue. So again, trying to negociate expectations and negociate the discussion, that besides means the authorities has higher expenses.
Texas has an other $27 cardinal to walk successful 2023, giving you an accidental to money the needs that you’ve been pushing for years. What’s apical of the list?
Across the authorities of Texas, we person 7 cardinal radical that don’t person high-speed broadband adjacent if they wanted it.
It’s been talked astir arsenic opportunities for agrarian economical improvement but present we cognize it’s much than economical improvement successful agrarian Texas. It’s astir radical being capable to spell to enactment each time remotely determination else, businesses having connectivity, besides acquisition opportunities, telemedicine. It’s astir radical conscionable being capable to spell to church. That net connectivity is virtually the road strategy of this period and I judge that the authorities of Texas, we request to besides put successful trying to travel up with originative solutions and moving with the backstage assemblage arsenic supplement to the national funding. So that’s No. 1 due to the fact that I deliberation that’s going to supply economical opportunities to the [parts of the] authorities that haven’t seen it.
What are immoderate of the competing dynamics that volition specify the adjacent legislative league arsenic lawmakers look to walk — oregon prevention — each this other cash? And however volition you usher that debate?
When there’s not immoderate other wealth oregon perchance budgets person to beryllium tightened, the legislative process is beauteous casual due to the fact that it’s conscionable 1 word. That connection is “no.”
But present that we person a imaginable currency carryover of $27 billion, wow, the fig of requests that are coming are conscionable perfectly phenomenal. I deliberation that’s erstwhile the existent strategical readying of however bash you person one-time expenses, one-time existent investments successful thing that volition wage longer dividends. When I accidental longer dividends I mean for the taxpayers. How bash you measure those? That’s what the existent situation for the legislature is going to be. Texas and astir apt respective different states arsenic good person ne'er been successful the presumption we are today.
You precocious went head-to-head with banks and concern firms similar BlackRock by banning them from doing concern with the authorities due to the fact that you said they “boycott” the fossil substance sector. What interaction volition that determination person connected authorities pension funds?
I judge that the Legislature enactment successful exemptions and carveouts due to the fact that they wanted to marque definite there’s flexibility. With that, it’s going to beryllium open, it’s going to beryllium transparent. If an entity decides to divest oregon not divest past those are going to beryllium discussions moving forward.
I personally judge Texas is going to find that close equilibrium to [whether] pensioners are not having to sacrifice portion of their returns. But besides connected the different manus the authorities is making a important connection that portion we judge successful a diverseness of vigor portfolios, we person an highly ample upwind procreation capacity, we person star capacity, we person a assortment of all. We judge that each pieces are important tools successful the toolbox.
So is Texas fundamentally daring these companies to alteration their concern portfolios?
No, I wouldn’t accidental it is. I deliberation that successful the conversations I’ve had with immoderate companies, I would accidental a twelvemonth agone this period immoderate of the unit said it’s absorbing determination are immoderate companies that would not beryllium connected our database that are not boycotting lipid and state but if you look astatine a batch of their publications they marque it look arsenic though they are. Therefore, it’s astir what I deem the “big lie” due to the fact that publically they’re saying 1 happening but privately “oh nary no nary we’re investing successful lipid and state and we privation to proceed to.” I conscionable deliberation that’s dishonest and let’s beryllium honorable with everybody.
Our satellite is touched by each of that [petroleum] and conscionable cutting disconnected backing for lipid and gas, that doesn’t lick these different issues, the logistical problems that we person to code successful bid to support our regular lives and the system functioning. And I deliberation there’s a equilibrium that we each privation to person a cleaner environment, absolutely, but we’ve got to beryllium much intellectually honorable with radical successful that conversation.
You person waded into societal debates similar transgender pupil athletes, captious contention mentation and pupil indebtedness forgiveness, and Texas insiders judge that’s due to the fact that you’re up for reelection this twelvemonth and whitethorn person plans to tally for higher office. What are your semipermanent governmental ambitions?
I’ve served successful 3 antithetic capacities implicit clip and erstwhile I ran for 1 I ne'er envisioned I would tally for the other. There were antithetic reasons that led maine successful that direction. Really for maine it’s conscionable going to beryllium a speech that is the aforesaid arsenic I’ve ever done, I’m going to person with my wife, I’m going to person with my 3 teenage kids, due to the fact that authorities impacts them.
The information is, I’m blessed, I emotion serving the state, I emotion serving the radical and I’ll conscionable transverse that span successful different 2 to 3 years and determine whether it’s clip for Glenn Hegar to spell find thing antithetic to bash and immoderate that is we’ll fig it retired successful a fewer years.
English (US)