March 11, 2020

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar Issues Statement on the Agency’s Telework Exercise

“As part of my effort to ensure the Comptroller’s office can provide seamless continuity of operations and safeguard the health of our employees, we conducted an agencywide telework exercise on Tuesday, March 10. Approximately 1,800 Comptroller employees, representing the majority of our workforce, worked regular hours from home. Critical operations of the agency functioned normally, including call center agents who handled normal call volumes while teleworking.

“I want to stress that this was a scheduled business continuity exercise designed to simulate a scenario in which Comptroller employees were required to work from home. This exercise will allow the agency to identify and address any weaknesses in our continuity plan under controlled conditions. The time to prepare is before an emergency arises, and I am grateful for the hard work my staff has done to ensure this exercise was successful.

“Since taking office, I have worked to create a more nimble, responsive and dynamic workforce and workplace by utilizing technology that allows for greater workforce flexibility while at the same time maintaining critical security. When working remotely, CPA employees use the same security-hardened laptops they use when in the office. In addition to the hard drives being encrypted, these laptops enforce secure connections back into the agency. This ensures agency remote workers are protected by the same multi-layered security controls they enjoy when in the office.

“We are all living and working in uncertain conditions. While panic will only exacerbate problems, taking practical, pragmatic steps now can ensure we maintain healthy working conditions and safeguard the continuity of critical state functions. I’m proud of our employees for taking a leadership role in these efforts.”