Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced an executive order barring any business that requires proof of COVID-19 vaccination or recovery from its customers from receiving Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts contracts or grants.
Under the order, every contractor and grantee must certify that it complies with Section 161.0085 of the Texas Health and Safety Code and does not require customers to show COVID-19 vaccination or post-transmission recovery documentation to enter, gain access to, or receive service.
Texas law already made businesses with such requirements ineligible to receive state grants or contracts. The Comptroller's order adds an enforcement mechanism by writing immediate-termination authority into agreements and making the vaccine passport certification a standard term in future contracts and solicitations.
"The government has no authority to demand medical papers from Texans just so they can access basic services," Huffines said.
The order applies to all agreements administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts going forward.