Texas legislators vote down bill giving SpaceX power to close Boca Chica roads
The House State Affairs Committee in the Texas state legislature yesterday voted 7 to 6 to reject a bill that would have given SpaceX the power to close the roads at Boca Chica rather than local county officials.
By a vote of seven “nays” to six “ayes,” members of the Texas House State Affairs Committee narrowly voted down Senate Bill 2188 — the companion to state Rep. Janie Lopez’s, R-San Benito, House Bill 4660. With the vote, the committee has declined to refer the bill to the House floor for a full vote.
The identical bills would shift control of road closures from Cameron County officials to SpaceX and the mayor of the likely new city of Starbase.
It appears there is still a chance the bill could get a vote in the full legislature this year, but that will require parliamentary maneuvers and deal making.
The bill lost because of a heavy campaign by a range of special interest activist groups, some of which have been working to block all of SpaceX’s activities in south Texas because they simply hate Elon Musk. At the same time, there are certainly valid reasons to question putting this power in the hands of a single private company.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The House State Affairs Committee in the Texas state legislature yesterday voted 7 to 6 to reject a bill that would have given SpaceX the power to close the roads at Boca Chica rather than local county officials.
By a vote of seven “nays” to six “ayes,” members of the Texas House State Affairs Committee narrowly voted down Senate Bill 2188 — the companion to state Rep. Janie Lopez’s, R-San Benito, House Bill 4660. With the vote, the committee has declined to refer the bill to the House floor for a full vote.
The identical bills would shift control of road closures from Cameron County officials to SpaceX and the mayor of the likely new city of Starbase.
It appears there is still a chance the bill could get a vote in the full legislature this year, but that will require parliamentary maneuvers and deal making.
The bill lost because of a heavy campaign by a range of special interest activist groups, some of which have been working to block all of SpaceX’s activities in south Texas because they simply hate Elon Musk. At the same time, there are certainly valid reasons to question putting this power in the hands of a single private company.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Sooner or later Boca Chica Beach will be closed and Hwy. 4 will become, in essence, a private road. I think sooner, rather than later, is most likely and the reason given will be national security. I expect SpaceX to play a major role in Pres. Trump’s Golden Dome defense plans and the DoD is not going to want random civilians roaming around that close to what will soon be a critical defense installation. Sadly, that will also likely mean the end of much or all of the access the space enthusiast press has heretofore enjoyed to areas near Starbase.
It really needs to be Area 52. Keep that riff-raff out.
Falcon is so well known that I would have no problems with it being launched inland–out of Groom Lake.
I see the USAF have some new NGAD play-toys.
Like F-35, these new jets will be worthless against ICBMs, but will wind up costing as much as an ICBM programs.
Space X will eventually buy up all the land around Star base and then they will have the power to close off roads.
Heck musk could even offer to build a new highway around the base in exchange for the old one. It happens all the time all over the country.
Some of Americas major toll bridges could not be funded by public funds and were eventually built by private citizens. Later taken over by the local government.
One of the worst roads I have seen is a spur road that parallels Highway 79 (Old 79 remnant?)
It isn’t even 1,000 feet long–and it is right next to an asphalt plant.
Dunn probably called the county. The county likely said that their trucks tore it up so why don’t they have it themselves. The city of Tarrant Alabama probably said the same thing.