A coalition including left-wing environmental groups is set to come before the Supreme Court of Texas, arguing that state laws permitting the closure of beaches for space flight activities violate the Texas Constitution’s Open Beaches Amendment.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include Save the Rio Grande Valley (SaveRGV), the Sierra Club, and the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation of Texas. Defendants include Cameron County, the Texas General Land Office, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, and the Texas attorney general.
Background
The 2009 Open Beaches Amendment to the Texas Constitution holds that “[t]he public, individually and collectively, has an unrestricted right to use and a right of ingress to and egress from a public beach. The right granted by this subsection is dedicated as a permanent easement in favor of the public.”
However, portions of the act were amended in 2013 to allow public beaches to be closed “for space flight activities.”
Commissioners of counties bordering the Gulf of America or its tidewaters could now close public beaches or access points that were in reasonable proximity to a space flight launch site on launch dates.
Since the laws have been passed, Boca Chica Beach in Cameron County has reportedly been closed for up to 450 hours per year to allow SpaceX to conduct launch activities.
The Lawsuit
This led SaveRGV to file a lawsuit claiming the law changes are an unconstitutional violation of the Open Beaches Amendment.
SaveRGV describes itself as a “non-profit membership organization established for educational and environmental advocacy to promote environmental justice and genuine sustainability through addressing the causes and consequences of climate change that affect the health and well-being of the entire Rio Grande Valley community.”
The Sierra Club—a left-wing environmental activist group—and the Indian tribe filed a petition in intervention, joining SaveRGV in seeking declaratory relief. They are asking the courts to declare the relevant laws unconstitutional.
All three groups claim their members have been harmed by the closures, as they regularly access Boca Chica Beach. The Sierra Club described how the closures affected one member in particular, who attempted to visit Boca Chica Beach on her birthday but was turned back due to beach closure.
Defendants contend that the challenged statutes are “plainly rational” and do not violate the right to public beach access.
They also sought to have the lawsuit dismissed by arguing that the Plaintiffs do not have standing to sue. They contend the court lacks the authority to hear the case for multiple reasons.
Defendants claim they are protected by sovereign immunity, that the Open Beach Amendment does not create a private right of enforcement, that Plaintiffs could not demonstrate they were harmed by the law, and that any alleged injury is not traceable to any of the parties named in the suit.
The 445th District Court of Cameron County granted each of the Defendant’s pleas in regards to Plaintiffs’ lack of standing. The court then dismissed the Plaintiffs’ claims without considering whether they have merit. Plaintiffs appealed the decision.
The Thirteenth Court of Appeals found the Plaintiffs have standing and that immunity had been waived for each Defendant. The case was remanded to the trial court to proceed on the merits, but Defendants appealed the Thirteenth Court’s ruling to the Supreme Court of Texas.
What Happens Next
Oral arguments are set to be heard before the Supreme Court of Texas on January 13, 2026. The question before the Court remains whether a citizens’ group may challenge a statute authorizing the closure of public beaches as unconstitutional.
Defendants are still hoping to have the case dismissed for a lack of standing. Should the Court side with Plaintiffs, the case would be sent back to the trial court to proceed on the merits.
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