At least one eminent domain lawyer thinks large value, 7 or 8 figure, eminent domain cases may be forced into a new three judge panels that can be convened by request of the AG. Texas Lawyer describes the bills as:
“allow[ing] the Texas attorney general to petition the Texas Supreme Court’s chief justice to convene a mandatory three-judge court to hear school finance or redistricting cases. The panel would consist of the original district judge who got the case, and two others appointed by the chief justice: a district judge from another county and an intermediate appellate court justice from another district. An appeal from a three-judge court would go straight to the Supreme Court.”
As filed the SB included a provision that would allow a 3 judge panel to be called by the AG for other claims of statewide importance. It’s not in the CSSB, but that language remains in the HB and concerns some eminent domain lawyers.