🟡Relating to certain advisory entities and work groups under the jurisdiction of the comptroller of public accounts or on which the comptroller’s office is represented and to the repeal or redesignation of certain of those entities.

🟡 SB 2900: Restructuring Oversight Under the Texas Comptroller

What it says it does:
SB 2900 claims to streamline advisory committees linked to the Comptroller’s office and improve efficiency by removing outdated boards and simplifying reporting.

What it actually changes:
It gives the Comptroller power to review, redesign, or dissolve advisory boards by 2026. It creates a new Investment Advisory Board inside the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, hand-picked by the Comptroller and exempt from normal state board rules. It repeals several oversight committees, including one tied to economic incentive audits, and changes how the tobacco settlement trust is advised and reported.

Who is pushing for it:
Author is Sen. Lois Kolkhorst (R-SD18). Witness lists in the files show support from senior Comptroller staff and the Trust Company’s leadership. No PACs or lobby groups are named in the documents.

Who benefits:
The Comptroller and the Trust Company gain more internal control over investments and advisory processes, with fewer external checks. Programs that favor centralized executive decision-making also benefit from simplified oversight lines.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Independent oversight bodies and anyone relying on public advisory board standards lose visibility into investment and incentive decision processes. The public has fewer formal avenues to monitor how state-managed funds are handled.

Why this matters long term:
The bill sets a precedent for consolidating financial oversight within a single office. Once the structure is in place, future leaders can expand or copy it across other funds or agencies, gradually reducing public transparency over billions in state assets.

What to watch next:
How the Comptroller structures and appoints the new advisory board, whether public disclosures or open meetings are maintained, and if other agencies start seeking similar exemptions from standard board laws.

Bottom line:
SB 2900 looks like efficiency reform, but it quietly concentrates advisory power and weakens outside review of state investments and incentive programs. Texans should pay attention to how this model is used going forward.

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