AUSTIN, Texas — A bill that passed in the Texas Senate on Thursday could cause a South Texas county to lose some control over its beaches.
Senate Bill 2188, authored by State Sen. Adam Hinojosa (R-Corpus Christi), would allow Elon Musk’s proposed Starbase City to oversee weekday closures of Boca Chica Beach in Cameron County. The county would still be in charge of beach closures on Fridays and weekends.
Starbase City, which serves as the headquarters for SpaceX and serves as its main testing and production site, is located around 2.5 miles from Boca Chica Beach.
Hinojosa said the bill would make it easier to close the beach when needed, but some senators critical of the bill said the legislation was only proposed to help Musk and his company.
“I’m just concerned we’re streamlining a bill that could be only going to make the rules and regulations easier for one company, and that is SpaceX,” State Sen. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) said. “So that’s a concern.”
The Cameron County Commissioners Court has come out in opposition to the bill.
The bill will next be considered in the Texas House.