Where the candidates for Texas comptroller stand on gambling, marijuana, taxes
Glenn Hegar
Political party: Republican
Age as of November 8, 2022: 51
Campaign website: GlennHegar.com
Occupation: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Education: Texas A&M University, BA, St. Mary’s University, MA, St. Mary’s University, JD, University of Arkansas, LLM
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
Texas House Member, District 28 from 2003 – 2007. Texas Senator for District 18 from 2007 – 2014
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
I have been involved in a wide range of community and civic organizations throughout the state, and Dara and I both are active in our church, local charities and (as proud Aggies) Texas A&M. But beyond that my time is dedicated to the activities and lives of my three teenagers. My family is more important to me than anything else. So their organizations are ALSO my organizations right now.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
All of my campaign contributors are clearly listed and searchable at the Texas Ethics Commission website and I encourage all voters to research this for all prospective candidates.
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent?
Real on the job experience helping to shepherd the world’s 9th largest economy through very challenging and uncertain times. As our state grappled with the fallout of BOTH the Covid Pandemic and Saudi and Russian energy market manipulation, I worked tirelessly to ensure Texas remained on firm fiscal footing and helped position our state for the strong economic recovery we are now enjoying. But while that recovery is strong, inflation and policies that threaten Texas jobs and industry have led to significant uncertainty. I believe I am the best candidate to ensure our economy remains healthy and Texans have the opportunity for continued success.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
The Comptroller must be focused on the Texas economy and we must safeguard the values that have made Texas the economic envy of the nation. Access to high speed internet is more critical than ever and not simply an issue for rural areas. I created the Texas Broadband Development Office to bring high-speed internet to every corner of our state. This will require a tremendous amount of effort and collaboration with communities and local stakeholders in all 254 counties in Texas but the reward to Texans will be a boost to the economy, greater access to healthcare and increased educational opportunities.The residential property tax burden in Texas remains a critical issue facing lawmakers. We have made significant progress in recent years in compressing property tax rates to try to reign in local property taxes, but a booming Texas economy and surging revenues presents us with an opportunity to give money back to taxpayers in the form of increased property tax relief.
Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use? Why or why not? If legalized, how should sales taxes from marijuana be used on the state level?
The decision to legalize marijuana for either recreational or medical use and the laws governing how any revenue generated from that decision should be used are issues that should be left to the legislature. The Comptroller does not and should not have the authority to make those decisions unilaterally and to suggest otherwise is irresponsible and factually inaccurate.
Would you support the legalization of casino gambling and/or sports betting? Why or why not? If legalized, how should sales taxes from gambling be used on the state level?
The decision to legalize casino gambling and the laws governing how any revenue generated from that decision should be used are issues that should be left to the legislature. The Comptroller does not and should not have the authority to make those decisions unilaterally and to suggest otherwise is irresponsible and factually inaccurate.
Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the coming legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?
We should prioritize returning money back to Texans in the form of meaningful property tax relief. Texans are struggling under tremendous inflationary pressures pushing gas and grocery prices to historic highs. Tax relief now will be an important tool to allow Texans to weather the economic uncertainty brought about by historic inflation.Recent events have highlighted that access to reliable high-speed internet is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. My office is working to deploy significant resources to ensure Texans in every corner of our state can reap the benefits of this essential development tool. We must continue to invest in this infrastructure to keep Texas competitive. I am examining the infrastructure related to Texas water management systems. Current conditions only highlight the critical need to make ongoing investments to maintain existing infrastructure and develop new and promising ways to ensure we are able to meet the needs of our growing state.
As Texas comptroller, how would you promote transparency in the comptroller’s office?
I have led the charge to shine a light on state and local finances. My office currently maintains tools that allow any taxpayer to track every dollar that comes into the state and every dollar that the state spends. The raw data is available, but I also pushed the agency to make it easier to understand and analyze the data available. Visualization tools allow Texans to compare across years. Search tools give Texans the ability to find specific information quickly and easily. And those revenue and spending databases are updated in near real time giving Texans a picture of what is happening now as well as a historic perspective.I also created the Texas Transparency Stars program that incentivizes local governments to open their books and provide unprecedented levels of transparency at the local level. And we aren’t just talking about traditional finances, but also contracts and procurement, economic development, public pensions and debt obligations.
What’s something most voters probably don’t know about the comptroller’s office that you think they should?
As the Comptroller, I serve as the chair of the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council which was formed to ensure that money recovered through the joint efforts of the state and its political subdivisions through a statewide opioid settlement agreement is allocated fairly and spent to remediate the opioid crisis using efficient, cost-effective methods.The opioid crisis is a real threat to our state’s future and has only gotten worse as dangerous drug cartels ship lethal drugs into our state over our southern border. At a recent briefing, the Texas Department of Public Safety told me and other council members, that, since March 2021, DPS has seized enough fentanyl to kill over 337 million Americans. These drugs are pouring into Texas and I look forward to leading a coordinated effort to prevent the continued flow of these substances into our state and mitigate the impacts on our citizens.
Janet Dudding
Political party: Democratic
Age as of November 8, 2022: 63
Campaign website: www.janetdudding4texas.com
Occupation: Certified Public Accountant
Education: Master of Business Administration, Millsaps College; Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting) University of Southern MIssissippi
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
2020 Nominee for Texas House District 14
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
I’m immediate past treasurer for College Station Noon Lions and immediate past president of Texas Democratic Women of the Brazos Valley. I’m on the Executive Board of the Brazos County Branch of the NAACP and am NPO grants chair for Bryan Rotary Club.I belong to the Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce, GFOA, GFOAT, TXCPA, Texas A&M Women’s Club, A&M Garden Club, Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, Brazos Valley African American Museum, and Brazos County Retired School Personnel.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Texas Democratic Women, Lucy Baines Johnson, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent?
Qualifications, experience and empathy. The Comptroller of Public Accounts is Texas’ accountant. I am a certified public accountant with 35 years of state and local governmental accounting, audit, administrative and even investigative experience. I began my career helping to put politicians in prison for procurement fraud.I know what it’s like to work hard and work uphill. As a single mom, I averaged 20 hrs a semester to earning my accounting degree. My college years were interrupted when I got sick. My doctor prescribed a D&C. At age 22, I had a complete hysterectomy. In Texas today, I might have been denied treatment. My opponent has only been a politician. ... He wrote the abortion ban bill that Wendy Davis filibustered. He’s publicly proclaimed that a fight against trans kids rights is a fight worth dying for.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
Texas needs a watchdog. The Comptroller should answer to the people, not special interests. Holding government accountable to the people of Texas will be my top priority.Review property tax appraisals and abatements to evaluate, disclose and cure corporate tax giveaways in the current system. Texas property taxes are among the highest in the nation. Expand broadband across the state. Work with local government leaders on broadband as a utility. This keeps prices affordable and creates revenue streams for the local governments. Rural communities need high speed - not gravel roads. Hegar recently likened his idea for rural broadband to a gravel road, which folks with no internet should be happy with -- but you can’t drive as fast on a gravel road. We need high speed internet for all Texans.The Comptroller handles procurement and is charged with lowering green house gases. Let’s capture methane emissions on state-owned lands — it’s fuel. Doing nothing about methane costs more.
Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use? Why or why not? If legalized, how should sales taxes from marijuana be used on the state level?
Absolutely yes. I fully support recreational adult use cannabis legalization. Legalization conservatively (my use of that word) will bring in $1B in fresh revenue. I would advocate that the uses of that fresh revenue - whatever they may be, mental health, public education, climate, etc - be stipulated in the enabling legislation. Licensing fees on each stage phase of the industry should cover regulation. New licenses should be openly available to populations who have been adversely impacted by the decades long war on marijuana. Toward that end, the state should set aside some of the revenue to help train and mentor best practices so that the new licensees can be successful.
Would you support the legalization of casino gambling and/or sports betting? Why or why not? If legalized, how should sales taxes from gambling be used on the state level?
I would first be interested to see how the lottery funds have been administered.
Texas is expected to have a huge budget surplus in the coming legislative session. How should those dollars be spent and what priorities should be addressed with those dollars?
The budget surplus comes from taxes on rising sales of good and services (sales tax) and on taxes from rising oil and gas production (based on market value when extracted from ground). Texas is part of the global economy -- the events in Ukraine impact us. Rising prices may be with us for a while.Eliminate sales tax on menstrual products, contraception products, all diapers. Treat all sales of food under SNAP rules. Our climate is changing -- and that brings higher utility bills. Establish a program for grants to tighten residential homes and small business.We have one-time money coming from the federal government - once in a lifetime money. This is our shot. We need to match that money with a one-time investment in infrastructure.On property taxes, the appraisal system needs an in-depth look. Across Texas, appraisals went up at least 10%, even in communities with only 2 sales in the whole county. Homeowners and small businesses are paying more than their fare share.
As Texas comptroller, how would you promote transparency in the comptroller’s office?
Absolutely, yes. Texas government should be completely transparent to the public.
What’s something most voters probably don’t know about the comptroller’s office that you think they should?
I am a hurricane survivor. Climate change is personal to me. The Texas Comptroller oversees renewable energy and alternative fuels. The Comptroller handles procurement and is charged with lowering green house gases. Let’s start by capturing methane emissions on state-owned lands — it’s fuel. Doing nothing about methane costs Texas billions in property loss from climate-caused disasters. The human costs of climate disaster are immeasurable. The Texas Comptroller should be reporting on ESG (note disclosure about the risks associated with environment, social governance) as it pertains to Texas governmental finances. The risk of loss is real and the reporting covers Texas’ policies and programs prepared to mitigate that risk. As an example, the state has allowed 700 gallons/minute of poisoned water to flow into the surface water and ground water for 20 years -- uncontrolled. This risk carries enormous costs which are not being addressed.
