The seven-member board that took over the Texas lottery and charitable bingo last year is briefed Oct. 28 on which bingo license holders the state will audit in the year ahead. The deadline for written comments passed at noon Oct. 23; in-person comment at the meeting is what remains.
The item is the fiscal 2027 compliance financial audit plan for charitable bingo license holders. The law behind it has the commission set the method by rule and the agency’s bingo division apply it, identifying every year the license holders most at risk of breaking the state’s bingo law or the rules under it and building a schedule for auditing them — each one no later than five years after it was flagged. The plan has to be refreshed every year against a fresh risk analysis, and the division has to give the board a copy.
A second item takes up the annual report on major and prime contracts in the lottery and charitable bingo programs, which the agenda says a department rule requires. Both programs arrived here on Sept. 1, 2025, when Senate Bill 3070 abolished the Texas Lottery Commission and moved its work to this commission and to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation — the agency that also handles electricians, barbering and cosmetology, and elevator safety. Rulemaking is split between the two, and the commission is barred from writing rules to administer the lottery act itself.
Eight contested cases referred from the State Office of Administrative Hearings come before the members, in matters the docket numbers tie to the cosmetology, electrician, barbering and air conditioning programs. Each side gets five minutes and three more for rebuttal. The commission has issued no final order in any of them, and it will not take public comment on a pending case. Members also vote on an internal audit plan for fiscal 2027, hand out assignments to the commission’s own workgroups for the year, and hear an executive report on last year’s performance and on replacing the agency’s legacy computer systems.
The meeting is at the George H.W. Bush Building on Congress Avenue and streams on the department’s YouTube channel. The minutes up for approval are from July 28, three months back. Members close by taking up Dec. 8 as their next date.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 8:30 AM, Wednesday, October 28, 2026. The operative notice, TRD 2026006237, was filed October 21 at 11:22 a.m. and replaces TRD 2026006217 of October 20.
- Where
- George H.W. Bush Building, 1801 Congress Ave., 4th Floor, Room 4.300, Austin. The notice warns this is a different location than previous meetings.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation — seven volunteer members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Rick Figueroa of Brenham, chair since 2019.
- Format
- Fifteen lettered items, in person and by videoconference. Executive session on legal and personnel matters. In-person comment is limited to three minutes; written comments closed at noon Oct. 23.
- Live video
- TDLR livestream on YouTube.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · TDLR commission page
Commissioners
- Rick Figueroa — chair; Brenham; chair since 2019; term expires February 2027.
- Thomas F. Butler — vice chair; Deer Park; listed term expired 2025.
- Gerald R. Callas, M.D. — Beaumont; term expires February 2029.
- Sujeeth Draksharam — Sugar Land; term expires February 2027.
- Jana Hall — Sweetwater; appointed 2026; term expires February 2031.
- Lori High, D.N.P. — Spicewood; term expires February 2027.
- Gary Wesson, D.D.S. — Richmond; term expires February 2029.
Roster from the agency’s commissioners page, re-read October 21. Seven members are listed and no seat is marked vacant. The page still lists Thomas F. Butler as vice chair with a term expiration of February 1, 2025, and offers no explanation; this article does not characterize that. Gary Wesson does not appear on the roster the Dispatch read in July; the page gives his appointment year as 2018. Meeting contact: Tarah Lossman, (512) 344-5324.