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Senate Bill 1045 |
Senate Author: Huffman et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-23 |
House Sponsor: Murr et al. |
Senate Bill 1045 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure, Government Code, Occupations Code, and Utilities Code to create the Fifteenth Court of Appeals District, composed of all counties in Texas, and the Fifteenth Court of Appeals on September 1, 2024. The bill establishes that the court has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction over the following matters arising out of or related to a civil case:
· matters brought by or against the state or an agency in the executive branch of the state government or by or against an officer or employee of the state or an agency in the executive branch of the state government arising out of that officer's or employee's official conduct, other than in specified proceedings and actions;
· matters in which a party to the proceeding files a pleading challenging the constitutionality or validity of a state law or rule and the attorney general is a party to the case; and
· any other matter as provided by law.
The bill establishes that the court is held in the City of Austin but may transact its business in any county in Texas as the court determines is necessary and convenient. If the court is created, the initial vacancies of the justices must be filled by appointment. The bill provides for the salary of the justices of the court.
Senate Bill 1045 provides for the transfer of cases pending in other courts of appeal of which the Fifteenth Court of Appeals has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals. The bill prohibits the Texas Supreme Court from transferring any case or proceeding properly filed in the Fifteenth Court of Appeals to another court of appeals for the purpose of equalizing the dockets of the courts of appeals. The bill changes from the Third Court of Appeals to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals the court to which a Travis County district court may request transfer of an action for specified purposes and the venue in which certain judicial reviews of a final order, rule, decision, or other action must be commenced. The bill requires the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System to submit an annual report to the legislature on the number and types of cases heard by the court in the preceding state fiscal year.