House Bill 1045 at a Glance
- Senate Bill 1045 creates a Fifteenth Court of Appeals with statewide jurisdiction. The court will be created on Sept. 1, 2024.
- The court will be located in Austin and may conduct its business in any county in the state it determines to be necessary and convenient.
- The court will consist of a chief justice and four asso- ciate justices. The chief justice and two justices will begin serving on Sept. 1, 2024, and the remaining two justices will begin serving on Sept. 1, 2027. The court’s initial vacancies will be filled by appointment. After that, the Fifteenth Court’s judges will be elected by voters statewide.
- The Fifteenth Court of Appeals will have exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction in the following civil actions
- matters brought by or against the State of Texas;
- matters brought by or against a state commission, board, department, office or agency (including univer- sity systems or public institutes of higher education);
- matters brought by or against an officer or employee of the state arising out of his or her official conduct;
- matters in which a party to the proceeding files a pleading challenging the constitutionality or validity of a state statute or rule, and in which the Attorney General is a party; and
- Any other matter as provided by law (including appeals from the newly created business court).
- The Fifteenth Court of Appeals will not have juris- diction of:
- Family Code cases;
- protective orders;
- lawsuits against a district or county attorney;
- mental health commitments;
- civil asset forfeitures;
- eminent domain cases;
- lawsuits to enjoin a common nuisance;
- actions to expunge a criminal record;
- cases that are heard by a special three-judge panel;
- actions related to orders of nondisclosure;
- employment discrimination cases;
- actions to remove county officers;
- or actions relating to civil commitment of sexually violent predators.
- On Sept. 1, 2024, all cases pending in other courts of appeals that were filed on or after Sept. 1, 2023, and over which the Fifteenth Court has exclusive intermediate appellate jurisdiction will be trans- ferred to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals.
- Each year, the Office of Court Administration will submit a report to the Legislature no later than December 1 on the number and types of cases heard by the Fifteenth Court in the preceding fiscal year.
