Texas 9-1-1 Commission to Move to Reopen Its Call-Center Rules for Public Comment

The nine commissioners who oversee the Texas 9-1-1 system will meet Sept. 30 to decide whether to reopen the rules that govern the state’s emergency call centers — a step that would give the public a formal window to comment on them.

The rules in question are the commission’s 9-1-1 service standards. They set how regional planning groups write the strategic plans that shape 9-1-1 service across most of Texas, what becomes of call-center equipment bought with 9-1-1 money, and when new technology may be added to call-taking systems. State law separately requires every agency to re-examine each of its rules every four years and decide whether the reason for the rule still exists. Staff are asking the members to approve publishing that notice in the Texas Register, which starts the clock.

The vote itself is procedural, and nothing about 9-1-1 service changes Sept. 30. What follows is less routine. Once the notice runs, anyone — a county, a call-center director, a phone carrier, a resident — can file written comment on rules most Texans never see but that shape how a 9-1-1 call reaches a dispatcher. The agenda does not say how long the comment period will run or which sections staff think need work; the published notice sets those terms.

Commissioners also take up a federal grant update for the Next Generation 9-1-1 Service Fund, the money Texas is using to move call centers off the old telephone network onto an internet-based one able to carry text, images and location data. The rest of the agenda is housekeeping: a financial update for appropriation year 2026, the internal auditor’s annual report and a proposed audit plan for fiscal 2027, the agency’s alternative work schedule policy, and yearly cost-and-effectiveness reviews of the two committees that advise the 9-1-1 and poison control programs.

Kate Blifford is now the agency’s executive director, according to the commission’s own homepage; the members had posted a candidate interview for closed session at their July 29 meeting, and the Sept. 30 agenda carries no executive-director item. Commissioners will also vote on whether to set Nov. 17 as their next meeting date, with a January date left open. Watch whether members signal which standards they want staff to revisit — that, not the vote, is where the review takes its shape.

Meeting at a glance

Commission members

• James Beauchamp — chair; Midland; term ends 2031.
• Ryan Henry — Lubbock; term ends January 2031.
• Bobbie J. Mitchell — Lewisville; term ends 2029.
• Richard Muscat — Austin; term ends 2027.
• Tim Pierce — Lubbock; term ends 2029.
• Clinton Sawyer — Amherst; the city’s mayor; term ends 2031.
• Cathy Skurow — term ends 2029.
• Larry L. “Chip” VanSteenberg — Conroe; term ends 2027.
• Von Washington, Sr. — El Paso; term ends 2027.
• Ex officio, non-voting: Connie Corona (Public Utility Commission), Wayne Egeler (Department of Information Resources), Jeff Hoogheem (Department of State Health Services).

Roster from the Texas State Directory listing for Agency 477, checked September 23, 2026, and cross-checked against the governor’s appointment releases; the commission’s own commissioner page sits behind a login, so the names could not be confirmed on the agency’s site. Clinton Sawyer’s city and his post as mayor of Amherst come from the governor’s March 2026 reappointment release, not the directory, which lists no city for him or for Cathy Skurow. Two members, Ryan Henry and Tim Pierce, were not on the roster the Dispatch published in July; the lieutenant governor and the speaker each name two of the nine commissioners and do not announce those appointments through the governor’s office, so no release would be expected. Staff: Kate Blifford, executive director; Kenny Moreland, general counsel. Agency contact: 512-305-6911.