SD1 Toolkit

SD1 Toolkit Docs: Reports, Hearings, and How to Be Heard

Reports by L. Brooks McKenzie, PhD, as formally delivered to Texas officials, with the dates and places where citizens can read, comment, and testify. Every document below is posted exactly as it was sent. Facts only; you draw the conclusions.

ACTION

Get reminders: add the hearings calendar to your phone or Google Calendar (it alerts you two days before each event), or email us to be reminded. One email per event; unsubscribe any time.

Upcoming dates

Date Body What happens How to take part
Sun Nov 1, 2026 Texas Commission on Marriage and Family (TCMF) Final report due to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker, and every legislator Read it when posted; write your own legislators
Fri Nov 6, 2026 Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission Full Commission meeting, virtual Watch the livestream (link posted day of meeting)
Tue Nov 10, 2026 TCMF Commission meeting Register to comment from the posted agenda; written comment by email
Tue Dec 15, 2026 TCMF Commission meeting Same as above
Tue Jan 12, 2027 Texas Legislature, 90th Regular session convenes at noon Find bills, register positions, testify at committee hearings
Not yet posted Senate Committee on State Affairs No hearing posted after Sept. 15, 2026 (checked Oct. 24, 2026) Watch the committee schedule; write committee members

Sources: TCMF dates and Nov. 1 report deadline, HHSC TCMF page; Children's Commission, Commission Meetings page; State Affairs, TLO committee meetings list. All checked October 24, 2026.

LAW

"The legislature shall convene at the seat of government in regular session at 12 noon on the second Tuesday in January of each odd-numbered year." January 2027 begins on a Friday; the Tuesdays are Jan. 5 and Jan. 12, so the second Tuesday is January 12, 2027.

Source: Tex. Gov't Code sec. 301.001

How to comment or testify

PRACTICE

TCMF: each meeting's agenda is posted on the HHSC meetings page with a public comment registration. Written comment goes by email to marriage.commission@hhs.texas.gov. Commission staff confirmed in writing that comments sent this way are given to the commissioners.

Source: HHSC TCMF page; Commission staff confirmation, Oct. 8, 2026
PRACTICE

Senate State Affairs: at a posted hearing, "Public testimony will be limited to 2 minutes per witness," and written testimony is "20 copies to the committee clerk with your name on each copy." The clerk advised that written testimony is not added to the record after the hearing day, so bring it on the day. Between hearings, write the members directly.

Source: Senate notice of public hearing, State Affairs, Sept. 15, 2026
PRACTICE

Children's Commission: meetings are livestreamed and archived on its YouTube channel. The Commission wrote that it does not include outside content in meeting materials and cannot take part in lobbying. Watch, and send research to children@txcourts.gov for its consideration.

Source: Children's Commission reply, Oct. 23, 2026
PRACTICE

Legislature (from Jan. 12, 2027): follow bills and committee notices on Texas Legislature Online. Find your legislators with Who Represents Me.

Source: Tex. Legislature Online; Gov't Code sec. 301.001

Reports delivered

1. The Best Interest of the Child, with comment and bill specifications

Sent October 8, 2026 to the Texas Commission on Marriage and Family (marriage.commission@hhs.texas.gov, cc Commission staff). The written comment was registered for the October 13, 2026 meeting. Status: Commission staff replied October 8 that the report "will be submitted as written comment" and the comment "will be provided to the commissioners as written comment."

The report measures Texas family law against H.B. 3284 and article I, section 37 of the Texas Constitution, makes ten findings, and recommends a first group of bills: equal parenting, findings and a record in every custody ruling, the elected judge for contested decisions, a fixed and blind evaluation protocol, divorce grounds, and public data on custody outcomes.

2. Written submission to the Senate Committee on State Affairs

Sent October 8, 2026 to the committee clerk and to each member: Chair Hughes and Senators Paxton, Bettencourt, Hall, Hinojosa, Parker, Perry, Schwertner, and Zaffirini. Subject: the interim charges Protecting Texas Families and Protecting the Integrity of the Judiciary, heard September 14 and 15, 2026. Status: the clerk replied that written testimony is not received on the record after the hearing day, but the work "will inform the recommendations the committee makes."

3. Fiscal report (working draft): what Texas pays to remove children

Sent October 16, 2026 to the Senate Committee on State Affairs (clerk, cc member staff) as a supplement to the written submission, and to the TCMF for Commissioner Brown. Status: the committee clerk replied October 16 that it "will be filed in our committee files." Posted as sent: labeled Working Draft 1; Texas records and data requests are still outstanding, and a final report will follow.

4. Submission to the Supreme Court of Texas Children's Commission

Sent October 16, 2026 to the Children's Commission (children@txcourts.gov) for its November 6, 2026 meeting, with copies to Sen. Bryan Hughes, Sen. Royce West, and Rep. Lacey Hull. Status: on October 23 the Commission declined to place outside materials in its meeting notebook and wrote that it "will take this information under consideration."

Complimentary handouts

Not formally delivered; free for anyone to print and share. Presentations and other documents are available on request from SD1.Regulators@gmail.com.

About this page: maintained by Dr. Brooks McKenzie for SD1 Toolkit. Dates are re-checked against the official pages before each update. To report an error, email SD1.Regulators@gmail.com.

SD1 Toolkit ยท Verified through 2026-10-24.