September 25, 2014 7:05 PM

Updated: Audit says millions from Texas Enterprise Fund went to entities that were not required to create new direct jobs

Some companies did not submit formal applications; audit comes as some lawmakers talk about taking oversight of economic incentive programs out of the governor’s office

This story has been updated throughout as of 4:57pm, including comment from Sen. Wendy Davis, who authored the legislation that required the audit – SB

Just as Governor Perry’s economic incentive programs come under increased scrutiny at the Texas Capitol, a new report from the State Auditor’s Office said millions have been awarded to companies and universities from the Texas Enterprise Fund without formal applications ever being submitted. $222 million was doled out that way. What’s perhaps worse is that the audit also specifically said many of those millions did not come with the requirement that companies actually create jobs, which was the whole idea when the fund was established a decade ago.

In fairness, the fund is credited with creating nearly 50,000 jobs in the last ten years at a cost of about $505 million that went to 115 companies or other entities. The governor’s office did, the audit said, recover about $14.5 million “when it became aware of recipients’ noncompliance with requirements in award agreements.”

But this report, released on Thursday morning, said that many millions were awarded with no corresponding job creation.

Projects that did not submit an application and were not required to create new, direct jobs received more than $105 million. Those include the Board of Regents of the UT System (for the benefit of the University of Texas at Dallas), Sematech, Lonestar Education and Research Network, Texas Energy Center and Baylor College of Medicine.

By Scott Braddock