PETITION INITIATING JUDICIAL REVIEW.

(a) A person initiates judicial review in a contested case by filing a petition not later than the 30th day after the date the decision or order that is the subject of complaint is final and appealable. In a contested case in which a motion for rehearing is a prerequisite for seeking judicial review, a prematurely filed petition is effective to initiate judicial review and is considered to be filed:

(1) on the date the last timely motion for rehearing is overruled; and

(2) after the motion is overruled.

(b) Unless otherwise provided by statute:

(1) the petition must be filed in a Travis County district court;

(2) a copy of the petition must be served on the state agency and each party of record in the proceedings before the agency; and

(3) the filing of the petition vacates a state agency decision for which trial de novo is the manner of review authorized by law but does not affect the enforcement of an agency decision for which another manner of review is authorized.

(c) A Travis County district court in which an action is brought under this section, on its own motion or on motion of any party, may request transfer of the action to the Court of Appeals for the Fifteenth Court of Appeals District if the district court finds that the public interest requires a prompt, authoritative determination of the legal issues in the case and the case would ordinarily be appealed. After filing of the district court's request with the court of appeals, transfer of the action may be granted by the court of appeals if it agrees with the findings of the district court concerning the application of the statutory standards to the action. On entry of an order by the court of appeals granting transfer, the action is transferred to the court of appeals for decision, and the agency decision in the contested case is subject to judicial review by the court of appeals. The administrative record and the district court record shall be filed by the district clerk with the clerk of the court of appeals. The court of appeals may direct the district court to conduct any necessary evidentiary hearings in connection with the action.