Opinion ID: 1383975
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Heading: The Sovereign-Immunity Doctrine and the Standard of Review

Text: Sovereign immunity protects the State from lawsuits for money damages. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. Sovereign immunity encompasses two principles: immunity from suit and immunity from liability. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. Immunity from suit bars a suit against the State unless the Legislature expressly consents to the suit. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. If the Legislature has not expressly waived immunity from suit, the State retains such immunity even if its liability is not disputed. Federal Sign, 951 S.W.2d at 405. Immunity from liability protects the State from money judgments even if the Legislature has expressly given consent to sue. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. This Court has long recognized that it is the Legislature's sole province to waive or abrogate sovereign immunity. Federal Sign, 951 S.W.2d at 409; see also Duhart v. State, 610 S.W.2d 740, 741 (Tex. 1980); Missouri Pac. R.R. Co. v. Brownsville Navigation Dist., 453 S.W.2d 812, 813-14 (Tex.1970); Griffin v. Hawn, 161 Tex. 422, 341 S.W.2d 151, 152 (1960); W.D. Haden Co. v. Dodgen, 158 Tex. 74, 308 S.W.2d 838, 840 (1958); Texas Highway Dept. v. Weber, 147 Tex. 628, 219 S.W.2d 70, 71 (1949); Hosner v. DeYoung, 1 Tex. 764, 769 (1847). The Legislature may consent to suits against the State by statute or by resolution. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. Legislative consent to sue the State must be expressed in clear and unambiguous language. Tex. Gov't Code § 311.034; University of Tex. Med. Branch at Galveston v. York, 871 S.W.2d 175, 177 (Tex.1994). We have consistently deferred to the Legislature to waive sovereign immunity from suit, because this allows the Legislature to protect its policymaking function. Hosner, 1 Tex. at 769; see also Cunningham & Pearce, Contracting with the State: The Daring FiveThe Achilles' Heel of Sovereign Immunity?, 31 St. Mary's L.J. 255, 258 n. 15, 259 n. 16 (1999); Harold J. Krent, Reconceptualizing Sovereign Immunity, 45 Vand. L.Rev. 1529, 1535 (1992). Indeed, in the Code Construction Act, the Legislature expressed its desire to maintain control over sovereign immunity [i]n order to preserve [its] interest in managing state fiscal matters through the appropriations process.... See Tex. Gov't Code § 311.034. Subjecting the government to liability may hamper governmental functions by shifting tax resources away from their intended purposes toward defending lawsuits and paying judgments. See Krent, 45 Vand. L.Rev. at 1537 n. 23. Accordingly, the Legislature is better suited than the courts to weigh the conflicting public policies associated with waiving immunity and exposing the government to increased liability, the burden of which the general public must ultimately bear. Federal Sign, 951 S.W.2d at 414 (Hecht, J., concurring); Guillory v. Port of Houston Auth., 845 S.W.2d 812, 813 (Tex.1993). In the contract-claims context, legislative control over sovereign immunity allows the Legislature to respond to changing conditions and revise existing agreements if doing so would benefit the public. Federal Sign, 951 S.W.2d at 414 (Hecht, J., concurring). Moreover, legislative control ensures that current policymakers are neither bound by, nor held accountable for, policies underlying their predecessors' long-term contracts. See Krent, 45 Vand. L.Rev. at 1538. But legislative control over waiving immunity from suit does not mean that the State can freely breach contracts with private parties, or that the State can use sovereign immunity as a shield to avoid paying for benefits the State accepts under a contract. Rather, if a party who contracts with the State feels aggrieved, it can seek redress by asking the Legislature to waive immunity from suit. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code §§ 107.001-.005. When the State contracts with a private party, it waives immunity from liability. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. But the State does not waive immunity from suit simply by contracting with a private party. Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 594. Until recently, if the Legislature had not expressly waived sovereign immunity from suit by statute, a private party could sue the State for breach of contract only if it obtained a legislative resolution. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code § 107.001. In 1999, the Legislature enacted an administrative process to resolve breach-of-contract claims against the State. Act of May 30, 1999, 76th Leg., R.S., ch. 1352, 1999 Tex. Gen. Laws 4578 (codified at Tex. Gov't Code §§ 2260.001-.108). However, chapter 2260 does not apply to contracts executed or awarded on or before August 30, 1999. Tex. Gov't Code § 2260.002(2). And, although chapter 2260 provides an administrative remedy, it does not waive the State's sovereign immunity from suit in breach-of-contract cases. Tex. Gov't Code § 2260.006; Little-Tex, 39 S.W.3d at 595. A plaintiff who sues the State must establish the State's consent to suit. Texas Dep't of Transp. v. Jones, 8 S.W.3d 636, 638 (Tex.1999). Otherwise, sovereign immunity from suit defeats a trial court's subject-matter jurisdiction. Jones, 8 S.W.3d at 638. The State may assert sovereign immunity from suit in a plea to the jurisdiction. Jones, 8 S.W.3d at 638. Whether a trial court has subject-matter jurisdiction is a question of law subject to de novo review. See Mayhew v. Town of Sunnyvale, 964 S.W.2d 922, 928 (Tex. 1998). Accordingly, we review a trial court's order denying a jurisdictional plea based on sovereign immunity de novo. See Mayhew, 964 S.W.2d at 928.