Sec. 216.014.  APPEAL.  (a)  Any person aggrieved by a decision of the board may file in district court a verified petition setting forth that the decision is illegal, in whole or in part, and specifying the grounds of the illegality.  The petition must be filed within 20 days after the date the decision is rendered by the board.
(b)  On the filing of the petition, the court may issue a writ of certiorari directed to the board to review the decision of the board and shall prescribe in the writ the time within which a return must be made, which must be longer than 10 days and may be extended by the court.
(c)  The board is not required to return the original papers acted on by it, but it shall be sufficient to return certified or sworn copies of the papers.  The return must concisely set forth all other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and must be verified.
(d)  The court may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the decision brought up for review.
(e)  Costs may not be allowed against the board unless it appears to the court that the board acted with gross negligence, in bad faith, or with malice in making the decision appealed from.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.