DIR must run an AI regulatory sandbox letting state agencies test systems outside normal rules
The Department of Information Resources is required to establish a program letting eligible public entities contract with registered vendors to test AI systems before deployment. That testing is expressly without full compliance with otherwise applicable regulations. Vendors apply, and participants file quarterly reports. The department must report to the Legislature by November 30th of each even numbered year. That makes November 30th, 2026 the first reporting date.
How to take part
The application process runs to vendors registered with DIR rather than to the general public. The statute provides no public comment step. The public visibility point is the report the department owes the Legislature by November 30th, 2026. A reader can ask DIR for the vendor application process and for any quarterly reports already filed.
Where
Statewide. This decision applies across Texas rather than to a named county.
Timeline
- effective
SB 1964 took effect
- Today
- statutory deadline
Department report to the Legislature due, per Sec. 2054.706(g)
60 days out
How this decision moved
One dated line per check, oldest first. A line that says nothing changed means somebody looked and it had not.
- 2026-08-18
Checked and unchanged. The sandbox program stands required of the Department of Information Resources and the report to the Legislature is still due November 30th, 2026.
- 2026-08-21
Checked and unchanged. The sandbox program stands required of the Department of Information Resources and the report to the Legislature is still due November 30th, 2026.
- 2026-08-25
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-08-28
Checked and unchanged. The Department of Information Resources has published nothing establishing the sandbox, and no vendor register has appeared. The report the statute requires is still ahead of the department.
- 2026-09-01
The statutory sandbox duty remains pending, with no published DIR program launch in the record.
- 2026-09-02
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-05
The statute still places the sandbox duty on the state technology agency and still sets the reporting date it has to answer by. Whether the agency has opened one is unconfirmed.
- 2026-09-08
The state technology agency's AI regulatory sandbox is still a statutory instruction without a published program behind it. No agency has been named as taking part.
- 2026-09-09
The regulatory sandbox letting state agencies test AI systems outside the ordinary rules is still a duty on the state technology agency. It still has no published program behind it.
- 2026-09-12
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-13
Checked and unchanged. Still pending, with no dated movement.
- 2026-09-16
The sandbox the state technology agency owes is still owed. No rule, no application form and no participating agency has appeared to show it running.
- 2026-09-19
The sandbox the agency is required to run has not opened, so no state agency is yet testing a system outside the ordinary rules.
- 2026-09-23
The sandbox is still a duty the statute assigns and not a program with a door on it.
- 2026-09-26
The sandbox is still a duty written into the statute. No program has opened that an agency could apply to.
- 2026-09-29
The regulatory sandbox for state agencies exists only as a statutory duty. The technology agency has not opened an application an agency could file.
The evidence
Every fact above rests on one of these. The words are the source's own.
"Program" means the program established by this section that is designed to allow temporary testing of an artificial intelligence system in a controlled, limited manner without requiring full compliance with otherwise applicable regulations.Texas Government Code Sec. 2054.706(a)(2), Artificial Intelligence System Sandbox Program Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
(b) The department shall establish and administer a program to support eligible entities in contracting with vendors to engage in research, development, training, testing, and other pre-deployment activities related to artificial intelligence systemsTexas Government Code Sec. 2054.706(b) Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
(2) a risk assessment of the system that addresses potential impacts on the public; and (3) a plan for mitigating any adverse consequences discovered during the system's testing phase.Texas Government Code Sec. 2054.706(c) Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
(g) Not later than November 30 of each even-numbered year, the department shall produce an annual report and submit the report to the legislature summarizing:Texas Government Code Sec. 2054.706(g) Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
Added by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1148 (S.B. 1964 ), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2025.Texas Government Code Chapter 2054 Subchapter S, source note Primary source, official · tcss.legis.texas.gov
Questions about this decision
Answered from the record itself. Every answer is assembled from stored fields, so an answer the record has no basis for is left out rather than guessed.
What is this decision?
The Department of Information Resources is required to establish a program letting eligible public entities contract with registered vendors to test AI systems before deployment. That testing is expressly without full compliance with otherwise applicable regulations. Vendors apply, and participants file quarterly reports. The department must report to the Legislature by November 30th of each even numbered year. That makes November 30th, 2026 the first reporting date.
Who decides it?
Texas Department of Information Resources decides. The record names the deciding body for every entry it carries.
Can the public take part?
The application process runs to vendors registered with DIR rather than to the general public. The statute provides no public comment step. The public visibility point is the report the department owes the Legislature by November 30th, 2026. A reader can ask DIR for the vendor application process and for any quarterly reports already filed. No dated public window is on the record. The deciding body is named and reachable.
Where in Texas does it apply?
It applies statewide.
Has it been decided?
It is pending. No final decision is on the record.
What happens next?
The next dated step is statutory deadline, on November 30th, in 60 days.
When did it start?
The earliest date on its record is September 1st, 2025.
What kind of decision is it?
It is filed under state policy.
What sources back it?
One source backs it. It is primary.
Is it on the ERCOT grid?
No. It sits outside the ERCOT interconnection.
When was it last checked?
Every fact on it was last verified against its source on September 29th, 2026.
Cite this
Texas AI Docket, DIR must run an AI regulatory sandbox letting state agencies test systems outside normal rules. Tracked since September 1st, 2025. Last verified September 29th, 2026. https://texasaidocket.com/item/tx-2026-0009/. Reuse permitted under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. The same entry is in the docket JSON as item tx-2026-0009.
Beat
Filed under State policy, with every other decision on that beat.