John Sepehri and David Cabrales Assess Texas Legislation Ahead in 2025
Foley & Lardner LLP John Sepehri and David Cabrales assessed significant Texas legislation up for debate this coming year in the Law360 article, “6 Pivotal Texas Bills To Watch In 2025.”
Sepehri highlighted H.B. 1494, which looks to expand venues available for plaintiffs challenging administrative rules issued by state agencies. He said that the bill is likely an attempt to build off of the statewide Fifteenth Court of Appeals’ creation in 2023.
“Obviously Travis County has a bent that’s a bit different politically than the state as a whole,” Sepehri explained. “I think the Legislature was concerned that the Third Court was hearing all these very important matters of administrative law and state constitutional issues.”
He continued that the lawmaker bringing the bill is likely “trying to take that same philosophy to the lower court level.”
“There’s a perception, rightly or wrongly, at least among some members of the Legislature, that if you have everything in Travis County, it may tilt things in a certain direction just because we do elect our judges,” Sepehri added.
Cabrales shared insight on two initiatives, one that would remove restrictions on the Texas Supreme Court’s writ power and a push in both chambers of the Legislature to alter the judicial complaint process.
On S.B. 311, targeted at the Texas Supreme Court’s writ power, Cabrales said the bill is part of an effort to make the Texas Supreme Court the final voice over the state’s other court of last resort, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
“It could be a continuation of [the] effort to try to have the Supreme Court be the greater of equals whenever there’s something that needs to be resolved between the two of them,” Cabrales explained. He also noted it could be driven by a Texas Supreme Court ruling in 2024 which held that lawmakers had overstepped their power in issuing a subpoena to halt the execution of a death row inmate.
Of the efforts to adjust the judicial complaint process, Cabrales said they are likely a response to frustration regarding bail provisions from certain lawmakers.
“ Those bills are designed to address that and also to sort of speed up and bolster and require some back-end reporting from the judicial commission when they go and investigate a judge for the laundry list of things that people can complain about,” Cabrales explained. “I think that [lawmakers] felt like there are limited tools in the toolbox because [judges] are elected officials, and even those limited tools weren’t being used to maximum effect.”
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