This Bad Decision Leaves Public Unable to Hold Government Accountable for Beach Closures Benefiting Private Interests

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FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

June 19, 2026

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BOCA CHICA, TX — The Texas Supreme Court today issued a ruling in SaveRGV, The Carrizo Commecrudo Nation of Texas LLC, Sierra Club,  v. The Texas General Land Office, The Texas General Land Office Commissioner, Dawn Buckingham, and Cameron County, that strips Texans of the ability to enforce their constitutional right to access public beaches when it is the government itself that is violating that right. The decision comes as Cameron County, and now the City of Starbase, repeatedly close Boca Chica Beach at SpaceX's request, handing the public beach to the company to use as a blast zone during rocket launches and related activities for as long as they wish. 

Texas voters enshrined the right to public beach access in the state's Bill of Rights in 2009 precisely to prevent this kind of arrangement. Today's ruling undermines that intent by requiring the public to rely on the government to police itself — even when the government is the party committing the constitutional violation. Yet the Texas Supreme Court has now ruled that private citizens cannot seek judicial enforcement of that constitutional protection when government officials violate it. 

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"The Court's decision effectively says that only the government can enforce the Open Beaches Amendment—even when it is the government that is violating it," said Marisa Perales, attorney for the plaintiffs. "The result is a constitutional right that becomes unenforceable whenever government officials choose to disregard it," Perales continued.  

 

The ruling places the burden of enforcement on the very entities accused of violating the constitutional right, leaving members of the public with no recourse to hold government officials accountable. It is difficult to imagine that Texas voters intended to create a constitutional protection that becomes ineffective whenever government actors are the source of the violation. 

Notably, even the Texas Attorney General (AG) did not endorse the legal rationale the court adopted. In a briefing to the court, the AG said, “The People likely did not constitutionalize the Open Beaches Act and place it in the Bill of Rights only to make it less enforceable against the government.”   The court's decision effectively strips away that mechanism, rejecting not only our claims, but the AG’s argument as well.  This leaves Texans without any means to enforce a right they believed they voted to protect.

The plaintiffs and their counsel are continuing to evaluate the Court’s decision and are weighing all available next steps.

 

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About Save RGV 

Save RGV is a 501(c) (3) Texas non-profit corporation that advocates for environmental justice and sustainability and the health and well-being of the Rio Grande Valley community and monitoring and preserving wildlife habitat, including but not limited to open beach access. 

 

 

Media contact

Marisa Perales, Attorney

Perales, Allmon & Ice, P.C.

1206 San Antonio Street, Austin, Texas 78701

Phone: (512) 469-6000  |  Fax: (512) 482-9346 

marisa@txenvirolaw.com