§ 107.003.Method Exclusive

An exclusivity provision, and its second half sets the direction in which a resolution may vary.

A resolution may grant permission to sue the state only in accordance with this chapter.

That forecloses a bespoke grant. The Legislature cannot, in a resolution, consent to suit on terms of its own devising outside the chapter.

A resolution may not alter the effect of the permission as the conditions section describes it — except that a resolution may further limit the relief to which the claimant may be entitled.

The variation runs one way only. A resolution may give less than the standard permission; it may not give more.

So none of the twelve conditions can be relaxed. A resolution cannot extend the two-year deadline, cannot waive immunity from liability, cannot permit punitive damages, and cannot consent to federal court.

The design protects the state from itself. Private bills are passed one at a time, often with little scrutiny and at the end of a session, and a resolution drafted by a claimant’s advocate could otherwise waive far more than intended.

Fixing the terms in a general statute means the Legislature decides the shape of consent once, and individual resolutions decide only who gets it.

The permission to narrow keeps the resolution useful. A claim may deserve consent as to one issue and not another, and the Legislature can limit the relief accordingly.

A claimant reading a resolution should therefore read the chapter with it, since the conditions apply whether or not the resolution repeats them.