diff --git a/hack/check-copyright-year.sh b/hack/check-copyright-year.sh
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 5d282486..45b0deb1
--- a/hack/check-copyright-year.sh
+++ b/hack/check-copyright-year.sh
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 #
 # Check if copyright statements include the current year
 #
-files=git diff --cached --name-only
-year=date +"%Y"
+files=$(git diff --cached --name-only)
+year=$(date +"%Y")
 
 for f in $files; do
     head -10 $f | grep -i copyright 2>&1 1>/dev/null || continue
diff --git a/internal/controller/supervisorconfig/generator/supervisor_secrets_test.go b/internal/controller/supervisorconfig/generator/supervisor_secrets_test.go
index f2844c7d..622ac6b6 100644
--- a/internal/controller/supervisorconfig/generator/supervisor_secrets_test.go
+++ b/internal/controller/supervisorconfig/generator/supervisor_secrets_test.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"go.pinniped.dev/internal/testutil"
 )
 
+// this is a comment
 var (
 	owner = &appsv1.Deployment{
 		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{