OPINION[1]Before Chief Justice Valdez, and Justices Longoria and HinojosaOpinion by Justice HinojosaAppellants James M. Bass, in his Official Capacity as the Executive Director of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Transportation (collectively the Department) appeal from a district court judgment reversing an order issued by the Texas Transportation Commission (the Commission). In two issues, the Department contends that the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to consider appellee Whalen’s Furniture, Inc.’s (Whalen) judicial appeal of the Commission’s order and, even if the trial court possessed jurisdiction, it erred in reversing the Commission’s order. We vacate the trial court’s judgment and dismiss the Department’s appeal for want of jurisdiction.I. BackgroundWhalen is a furniture store. In 1966, it erected an outdoor advertising sign (a billboard) along State Highway 83 near Harlingen, Texas. In December 1972, the Department issued a billboard permit to Whalen. At some point, Whalen’s billboard permit lapsed, but the Department offered an amnesty program for such permits. In November 2012, Whalen applied for amnesty, paid outstanding permit renewal fees, and the Department issued it a renewal permit. Thereafter, Whalen’s billboard permit was effective through October 2013.A. 2013 Inspection, Permit Renewal, and Permit CancellationOn July 8, 2013, E.J. Deleon, an inspector with the Department, inspected Whalen’s billboard. In Deleon’s field inspection log (inspection report or FIL), he observed that the billboard had been removed. Deleon commented in his inspection report the following:Inventory inspection on this structure for attachment of replacement plates. While on the inspection[,] I observed that sign has been removed. I called Mr. Tom Weekly[, Whalen's president,] and he mentioned that the sign was completely blown down by strong winds. He also mentioned that he wants to eventually put the sign back up. (A new sign). I documented photos, FIL and GPS coordinates.Notwithstanding Deleon’s inspection report, on August 13, 2013, the Department sent Whalen a permit renewal application for the billboard. The renewal application contains several preprinted provisions that provide, in relevant part, the following:Advisement…3. Permits are renewed pending the outcome of an administrative hearing. A “yes” in the column “Outstanding Violations” indicates that there is an action pending on the permit, such as the correction of a violation or an administrative hearing; an explanation is enclosed.Department Review1. Each permit checked “Approved” in Part III of the Permit Renewal Table has been renewed for one year beyond its listed expiration date and shall remain valid only if its corresponding sign was legally erected and continues to be legally maintained in accordance with all applicable law and regulation. Approval of the renewal is not an indication that the sign has been audited for total compliance with highway beautification laws. It is incumbent upon the permit holder to ensure that his or her signs are not violating any City, State, or Federal statutes.On August 27, 2013, the Department sent Whalen, by certified mail, a “notice of cancellation” that provides the following:During an inspection of th[e] area [where the billboard is located] conducted [on] July 8, 2013, the inspector found that the sign has been removed. Your attention is drawn to the following reference to the Texas Administrative Code (TAC):43 TAC § 21.176(a)(1) which states Cancellation of Permit. The department will cancel a permit for a sign if the sign is removed. . .For this reason, the Department is notifying you that effective on the date of this letter, the aforementioned permit is hereby cancelled.Pursuant to Title 43, TAC, § 21.176, you have the right to request an administrative hearing on the question of the cancellation of the aforementioned permit. The request must be made in writing to the Director of the Right of Way Division within 45 days of the receipt of this notice.(Emphasis in original).On September 4, 2013, Weekly, as president of Whalen, returned the permit renewal application and submitted the seventy-five-dollar fee to the Department.On September 13, 2013, Whalen requested an administrative hearing as instructed in the notice of cancellation. Also on that date, the Department received Whalen’s permit renewal application and the accompanying fee.The Department renewed Whalen’s billboard permit on September 17, 2013 without acknowledging Deleon’s July 8, 2013 inspection report, the August 27, 2013 notice of cancellation, or that Whalen was within the forty-five-day period for requesting an administrative hearing as afforded by the notice of cancellation.[2] The second page of the renewal application states the following:PERMIT RENEWAL TABLEPart I Permit InformationPart II Completed By ApplicantPart III For TXDOT USEPermit NumberIssuedCountyHighwayRecord IDOutstanding ViolationsExpiresSign Size (Sq. Ft.)Renew PermitApprovedPendingDenied4476012/03/1981CameronUS 8318838NONE10/16/2013384Yes
