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78R7572 MCK-F

By:  Bonnen                                                       H.B. No. 2545



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the courts that may review a decision in a contested 
case under the Administrative Procedure Act.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Sections 2001.176(b) and (c), Government Code, 
are amended to read as follows:
	(b)  Unless otherwise provided by statute:                                     
		(1)  the petition must be filed in a [Travis County] 
district court of a county in which the petitioner resides or 
transacts business;
		(2)  a copy of the petition must be served on the state 
agency and each party of record in the proceedings before the 
agency; and
		(3)  the filing of the petition vacates a state agency 
decision for which trial de novo is the manner of review authorized 
by law but does not affect the enforcement of an agency decision for 
which another manner of review is authorized.
	(c)  A [Travis County] district court in which an action is 
brought under this section, on its own motion or on motion of any 
party, may request transfer of the action to the court of appeals
[Court of Appeals for the Third Court of Appeals District] if the 
district court finds that the public interest requires a prompt, 
authoritative determination of the legal issues in the case and the 
case would ordinarily be appealed.  After filing of the district 
court's request with the court of appeals, transfer of the action 
may be granted by the court of appeals if it agrees with the 
findings of the district court concerning the application of the 
statutory standards to the action.  On entry of an order by the 
court of appeals granting transfer, the action is transferred to 
the court of appeals for decision, and the agency decision in the 
contested case is subject to judicial review by the court of 
appeals.  The administrative record and the district court record 
shall be filed by the district clerk with the clerk of the court of 
appeals.  The court of appeals may direct the district court to 
conduct any necessary evidentiary hearings in connection with the 
action.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies to a petition for judicial review filed on or after that 
date.  A petition for judicial review filed before the effective 
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the 
petition for judicial review was filed, and the former law is 
continued in effect for that purpose.