TITLE 40. SOCIAL SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE
PART 19. DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES
CHAPTER 702. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
SUBCHAPTER
O.
The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) proposed new rules in Title 40, Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Part 19, Chapter 702, Subchapter O, relating to the creation of the Office of Interagency Coordination on Reportable Conduct (OICRC) to support the Search Engine for Multi-Agency Reportable Conduct (SEMARC). The proposal was published in the May 29, 2026 issue of the Texas Register (51 TexReg 3694). The new rules are adopted without changes to the proposed text and will not be republished.
BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
In the 88th Regular Legislative Session, Senate Bill 1849 passed establishing SEMARC. SEMARC is an interagency search engine to help participating state agencies identify individuals with a history of reportable work conduct. Reportable conduct is defined in Section 810.001 of the Health and Safety Code. This tool aims to prevent individuals from being present in work roles where they could harm vulnerable populations, such as DFPS clients.
COMMENTS
The 30-day comment period ended June 28, 2026. During this period, DFPS received comments regarding the new rules from the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services. The received comments relating to the rules and DFPS's responses follows.
Comment: The Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services commented: "We have no suggestions about the language in the proposed rules and support the intent behind the legislation and rule language to promote the safety of children. However, we would like to request consideration of steps that might be taken to streamline the background check process to ensure providers are able to timely hire eligible and appropriate staff to support the care and needs of children, particularly with the additional step of checking SEMARC as part of the background check process."
Response: DFPS appreciates the comment but has not made any changes to the rules as changes were not requested. The commenter's request relates to background checks operational processes, which are outside the scope of this rulemaking and therefore do not impact the proposed rule language.
The SEMARC check is required to implement Health and Safety Code Chapter 810 and is intended to improve child safety by identifying individuals with reportable conduct. DFPS will continue to evaluate opportunities to improve efficiency of background check processes, while ensuring compliance with statutory requirements and maintaining protections intended to promote the safety of children.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The new rules are adopted under Human Resources Code §40.027, which provides that the Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner shall oversee the development of rules relating to the matter within the department's jurisdiction and notwithstanding any other law, shall adopt rules for the operation and provision of services by the department.
Additionally, Health and Safety Code Chapter 810 requires DFPS to create rules regarding the operation of the OICRC and periodic search queries using SEMARC.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on July 14, 2026.
TRD-202602891
Sanjuanita Maltos
Rules Coordinator
Department of Family and Protective Services
Effective date: August 3, 2026
Proposal publication date: May 29, 2026
For further information, please call: (512) 945-5978