July 21, 2026

Don Huffines​
Kelly Hancock​
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts​
P.O. Box 13528, Capitol Station​
Austin, Texas 78711-3528

Mr. Huffines:

According to coverage in Quorum Report, you recently informed senior staff at the Office of Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts that their continued employment under your administration of the office would depend on whether you determined them to be sufficiently Christian. If accurate, this statement is evidence that you intend to engage in illegal religious employment discrimination upon taking office.

Needless to say, American Atheists found this news deeply troubling. The constitutions of both the United States and Texas prohibit imposing religious tests on government employees. Furthermore, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits religious discrimination in employment.

Your office employs nearly 3,000 Texans. Demographic data from the Pew Research Center suggest that approximately 1,000 of those people are either nonreligious or ascribe to one of numerous non-Christian religions practiced throughout Texas. In addition, your statement suggests that your decision would also impact any Christian employees that you determine are not sufficiently devout or belong to denominations that you may feel are not “true Christians.”

Following your appointment by Governor Abbot, you pledged to use your office in no small part to hold public officials to account for their abuses of public funds. We, in turn, will hold you to account if you should choose to abuse your office by engaging in illegal and
unconstitutional religious discrimination.

Govern yourself accordingly.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey T. Blackwell​
Legal Director, General Counsel​
American Atheists​
[email protected]​
908-603-8787