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Presentation, discussion, and possible action on an order adopting action on five sections of the Department’s rules in 10 TAC to be amended to implement changes necessary to bring them into consistency with §1.410 Determination of Alien Status for Program Beneficiaries and directing their publication for public comment in the Texas Register: §6.204 Use of Funds for the Community Services Block Grant Program; §7.28 Program Participant Eligibility and Program Participant Files for the Homeless Housing and Services Program, §7.44 Program Participant Eligibility and Program Participant Files for the Emergency Solutions Grant Program; §20.4 Eligible Single Family Activities in the Single Family Programs Umbrella Rule; and §20.6 Administrator Applicant Eligibility in the Single Family Programs Umbrella Rule
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code §2306.053, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (the Department) is authorized to adopt rules governing the administration of the Department and its programs;
WHEREAS, on November 6, 2025, the Board approved changes to 10 TAC §1.410 Determination of Alien Status for Program Beneficiaries, which relates to legal status requirements for persons receiving assistance from the Department, to be released for public comment, and which will apply to all Community Affairs, Homelessness and Single Family programs;
WHEREAS, 10 TAC §1.410 provides for the requirement to perform a review for alien status for program participants, but does not specify how each program will determine a household’s benefits after such determinations are made;
WHEREAS, two of the Community Affairs programs already addressed how a determination of Alien Status would be applied in their rules, but the Community Services Block Grant Program (CSBG) did not yet have such guidance, nor did the Single Family or Homelessness Programs;
WHEREAS, staff proposed amendment changes to five sections of the Department’s rules that provide for how benefits will be impacted by a determination of Alien Status and because of the similar nature of these changes, these rule actions were presented to the Board in one consolidated action item; and
WHEREAS, staff drafted such amendments to the current rules, which were released for public comment from December 26, 2025, through January 26, 2026, public comment was received, and the rule actions have been amended in response to such comment and to make other technical corrections;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby
RESOLVED, that the Executive Director and his designees be and each of them hereby are authorized, empowered, and directed, for and on behalf of the Department, to cause the actions herein in the form presented to this meeting, to be published in the Texas Register for adoption, and in connection therewith, make such non-substantive technical corrections as they may deem necessary to effectuate the foregoing including any requested revisions to the preambles.
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BACKGROUND
At the Board meeting of November 6, 2025, the Department’s Board authorized a proposed rule action to 10 TAC §1.410 Determination of Alien Status for Program Beneficiaries outlining the requirement that all Single Family, Community Affairs and Homelessness programs subrecipients of the Department must confirm legal alien status for program participants in order to receive assistance. That rule is currently out for public comment and will then be returned to the Board.
While 10 TAC §1.410 provides for the requirement to perform a review for alien status for program participants, it does not specify how each program will calculate benefits based on those determinations because each program is different enough in its eligible activities that such applicability needs to be tailored to the specific programs. This level of specificity already exists in rule for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program. However, it was not included or contemplated in the CSBG, Homelessness and Single Family Program rules.
At the Board meeting of December 11, 2025, the Board authorized proposed rule amendments to the following five rule sections to implement such provisions:
• Community Services Block Grant Program - 10 TAC §6.204 Use of Funds
• Homeless Housing and Services Program - 10 TAC §7.28 Program Participant Eligibility and Program Participant Files
• Emergency Solutions Grant Program - 10 TAC §7.44 Program Participant Eligibility and Program Participant Files;
• Single Family Programs - 10 TAC §20.4 Eligible Single Family Activities and 10 TAC §20.6 Administrator Applicant Eligibility, both in the Single Family Programs Umbrella Rule
Because these revisions are all tied to the same issue - implementation of 10 TAC §1.410 Determination of Alien Status for Program Beneficiaries - staff presented these in one Board Action Item. It should be noted, however, that the Texas Register still requires each rule to be submitted separately. Therefore, in the following pages you will see the preamble for each of the five actions, each followed by the amendment in blackline form for only that one rule reflecting only any new changes being recommended since the publication for public comment. Public comment was accepted from December 26, 2025, through January 26, 2026, and comment was received. The summary of comment and the Department’s response is provided in each of the preambles. Additionally, in 10 TAC §20.4, after review of further guidance from HUD, reference to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) was removed because HUD did not include NSP in its applicability of PRWORA. These rules are being adopted.