Cameron County currently manages beach closures near SpaceX's Boca Chica facility, with the authority to temporarily close State Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach during rocket launches and testing activities.123 The county publishes closure notices with primary and alternative dates, typically spanning from early morning to late evening.3 SpaceX is licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to close the beach up to 500 hours annually for operations plus an additional 300 hours to address anomalies.4

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño defended the county's management of beach access, stating "if it's not broken, then there's no need to fix it."5 The judge emphasized that the county has shown "good discretion" in balancing SpaceX's operational needs with public beach access rights.5 For real-time updates on beach closures, residents and visitors can text "BEACH" to 866-513-3475.1 The South Texas Environmental Justice Network celebrated the defeat of legislation that would have transferred this authority, calling it a "significant victory" for preserving beach access.6

Senate Bill 2188, introduced by Republican Senator Adam Hinojosa, would have allowed the proposed city of Starbase to oversee weekday closures of Boca Chica Beach while leaving Cameron County with authority only over Friday afternoons and weekends12. The bill passed the Texas Senate on April 3, 20251, but was narrowly rejected in the House State Affairs Committee on April 28 by a 7-6 vote34.

The defeat represented a significant setback for SpaceX's efforts to streamline beach closure processes. Environmental activists and local residents celebrated the bill's failure, with the South Texas Environmental Justice Network estimating that community members sent approximately 500 letters to Texas representatives and made dozens of calls to lawmakers in opposition4. Local government officials also opposed the legislation, with the Cameron County Commissioners Court passing a resolution against it and Port Isabel city leaders formally objecting to the proposed changes41. A companion bill that would have made it a Class B misdemeanor for unauthorized individuals to remain in closed beach areas during launches also died with SB 2188's defeat4.

On May 3, 2025, residents of the Boca Chica area will vote on whether to incorporate Starbase as an official Texas city. The election follows a petition submitted in December 2024 with 70 signatures, exceeding the required 10% of qualified voters in the area.12 Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño approved the petition in February 2025, setting up what could become the county's first new municipality since Los Indios in 1995.34

The proposed 1.5-square-mile city (roughly the size of New York's Central Park) would be established as a Type C municipality with a mayor and two commissioners serving two-year terms.56 With SpaceX owning nearly all land within the proposed boundaries and most eligible voters being company employees or their families, the incorporation is widely expected to pass.78 Bobby Peden is currently the only mayoral candidate, while Jordan Buss and Jenna Petrzelka are running for commissioner positions.8 If approved, the new city government would need to quickly establish priorities for services, taxation, and development to support SpaceX's expanding operations and the community's approximately 500 residents, including 120 children.617