Sec. 26.051.  STATE AGENCY WITH EXCLUSIVE OR PRIMARY JURISDICTION.  (a)  Before hearing or deciding a motion to certify a class action, a trial court must hear and rule on all pending pleas to the jurisdiction asserting that an agency of this state has exclusive or primary jurisdiction of the action or a part of the action, or asserting that a party has failed to exhaust administrative remedies.  The court's ruling must be reflected in a written order.
(b)  If a plea to the jurisdiction described by Subsection (a) is denied and a class is subsequently certified, a person may, as part of an appeal of the order certifying the class action, obtain appellate review of the order denying the plea to the jurisdiction.
(c)  This section does not alter or abrogate a person's right to appeal or pursue an original proceeding in an appellate court in regard to a trial court's order granting or denying a plea to the jurisdiction if the right exists under statutory or common law in effect at the time review is sought.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 204, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.