In late May, Governor Abbott signed H.B. 1761, which will effect changes to the Texas Supreme Court’s jurisdiction beginning September 1, 2017. The changes simplify the most common grounds by which the Court may exercise its discretionary jurisdiction and expands the Court’s power to review certain cases that were once final in the courts of appeals.

Section 22.001(a) of the Texas Government Code has long provided a list of bases for the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction. Jurisdiction extends to cases:

• in which there is a dissent in the court of appeals,
• in which the courts of appeals disagree (i.e., a “circuit split”), involving the construction or validity of a statute, involving state revenue,
• in which the railroad commission is a party, and
• “any other case” in which an error of law was committed by the court of appeals that is of such importance to the jurisprudence of the state that it warrants correction.

H.B. 1761 essentially strikes all but the final ground. The Court’s appellate jurisdiction will simply extend to any case that presents “a question of law that is important to the jurisprudence of the state.” Appeals made final in the court of appeals by other statutes will remain final in the court of appeals, though those limitations will also change.

H.B. 1761 removes several restrictions on the Court’s jurisdiction. Most notably, it ends the prohibition of the Supreme Court’s consideration of appealable interlocutory orders, including orders granting or denying temporary injunctions and orders appointing receivers or trustees.

The changes will also permit Supreme Court review of cases involving contested local elections and cases in which a county court would have had original or appellate jurisdiction. Those cases may be reviewed if they meet the general standard of presenting a question of law important to the jurisprudence of the state.

The changes to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction are effective September 1, 2017. However, interlocutory orders signed before that date will continue to be governed by the law in effect at the time they were signed.