Relating to the establishment of the Quad-Agency Child Care Initiative and the Quad-Agency Child Care Initiative Commission.

Texas creates coordinated child-care rule reviews

The law creates the Quad-Agency Child Care Initiative and a four-member commission to coordinate Texas child-care policies. Members are the heads or designees of the Texas Workforce Commission, Health and Human Services Commission, Department of Family and Protective Services, and Texas Education Agency. The Workforce Commission chair or designee leads it. Its goals include affordable, quality care, lower provider insurance costs, child safety, provider education, and consistent enforcement. It reviews agency rules and policies for conflicts, duplication, and less restrictive alternatives; it does not guarantee lower family fees. Agencies must make agreements to use existing staff and resources. Staff time supporting the initiative does not count against their full-time employee allotments. The commission is a public governmental body that must meet at least three times yearly, with its first meeting by December 31, 2025. The public, elected officials, and other agency leaders can request reviews; the chair decides whether to grant requests. The commission can also start reviews itself. Review notices must appear within 10 business days, including on the Workforce Commission website. Each notice opens a 30-day online comment period; the chair must consider timely comments and may consider late ones. The chair can seek expert input, including from providers. Written expert submissions are posted for two years unless confidentiality is requested. Within 30 days after each meeting, the chair must report actions under review to the Governor. Reports remain online until two years after the meeting. Review records, comments, and decisions must be retained and posted for at least two years after review starts, subject to expert confidentiality. After public comment, actions found consistent with the goals need no further action. Inconsistent or unresolved actions go to the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office for a final decision. If that office finds a conflict, the agency must stop related enforcement and withdraw the action as soon as practicable. Where appropriate, it must replace the action with a less restrictive one, but neither reviewing body can force a suggested replacement. The law specifies immediate effect with two-thirds approval in each legislative chamber; otherwise, its effective date is September 1, 2025.