Every 911 outage reported to the state's 911 agency last year traced to the legacy system, efficiency audit finds

Texas is still paying to keep its older 911 network running alongside the newer internet-based system meant to replace it, and every 911 service outage reported in the last fiscal year came from the older system, according to an efficiency audit released by the State Auditor's Office.

The review of the Commission on State Emergency Communications, the small state agency that runs the state 911 program for areas not covered by independent emergency communication districts, was done by the accounting firm Weaver under contract with the auditor. State Auditor Lisa R. Collier sent it to the Legislative Audit Committee in a letter dated Oct. 21.

Paying for two systems

The commission spent $1,577,646.87 on legacy 911 in fiscal 2025, about 80% of the $1,950,972 budgeted for it, the report says, and spending through the first half of fiscal 2026 was running at about 46% of the year's budget.

All 19 regional planning commissions that deliver the state program are partway through the change, at what the report calls the intermediate stage, and every 911 answering point in Texas now offers text-to-911, the auditors wrote.

They did not call the double spending an agency failure. Finishing the switch depends on telephone carriers and Federal Communications Commission timelines, the report says, and federal law limits how much state lawmakers or the Public Utility Commission could do to speed it up. The auditors flagged the cost so lawmakers can see it.

Two fixes the agency accepted

The auditors found that the Emergency Communications Advisory Committee, created to coordinate a single statewide emergency network that Texas never built, often takes up matters beyond that role while still meeting monthly and consuming staff and commissioner time. The commission agreed and said its executive director will limit the committee's agendas to what state law allows starting Nov. 1.

They also found that about 55% of the 159 items on the agency's state property list were out of service or could not be identified, with old equipment taking up office space while waiting on surplus processing by the Texas Facilities Commission. The agency says it has since disposed of 90% of its surplus and expects to finish by Jan. 31, 2027.

Auditors found no overlap between the commission's work and that of other agencies. The commission, which also oversees six regional poison control centers and is authorized for about 26 full-time positions, agreed with all the recommendations.

Sources

State of Texas