SB 2188 Texas Senate · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the regulation of certain space flight activities, including the closure of certain areas for those activities.

SB 2188 requires spaceflight operators in specific Texas counties (bordering the Gulf of Mexico with FAA-approved spaceports) and small municipalities (under 150,000 population) to submit proposed launch dates to local officials. It allows county commissioners courts or municipal governing bodies to temporarily close beaches near launch sites during designated times - Monday 8 a.m. to Friday 12 p.m., or Friday 12 p.m. to Monday 8 a.m. - to protect public safety. The bill directly affects spaceport operators and coastal communities with approved launch facilities, while prohibiting local governments from banning spaceflight activities outside these specific closure procedures. It clarifies that spaceflight regulation falls under federal and state jurisdiction, not local ordinances.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
Apr 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 10, 2025 Last action May 25, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · Apr 3, 2025
MINOR
The bill was reformatted from an introduced draft to an engrossed version with minor text corrections and formatting adjustments. The substantive policy content regarding space flight jurisdiction and beach closure procedures remains unchanged.
Scope change
No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; only formatting and minor text corrections were made.
TECHNICAL

Header information was updated from draft format to official engrossed format with proper bill number and sponsor information.

Minor text corrections were made throughout the document, including fixing bracketed placeholder text and correcting line breaks.

Formatting inconsistencies were resolved, such as removing extra line breaks and standardizing spacing.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 3, 2025

How they voted

246
Passed
Total votes 30
Apr 3, 2025
D Democratic10
4 Yea 6 Nay
60% Nay
R Republican20
20 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
37
Key actions
12
Committee
13
Amendments
3
May 25, 2025
Committee
Recommitted to committee
lower
May 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendment(s)
lower
Apr 28, 2025
Committee
Failed to receive affirmative vote in comm.
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
Apr 7, 2025
Introduced
Received from the Senate
lower
Apr 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed to engrossment as amended
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Upper · Passed
Amended
upper
Apr 3, 2025
Introduced
Amendment(s) offered
upper
Mar 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee report printed and distributed
upper
Mar 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably w/o amendments
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Vote taken in committee
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Left pending in committee
upper
Mar 19, 2025
Upper · Passed
Testimony taken in committee
upper
Mar 13, 2025
Committee
Referred to Natural Resources
upper
Mar 13, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
6 primary · 47 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Adam Hinojosa
Adam Hinojosa
RRepublican
TX
27
P
Photo of Dennis Paul
Dennis Paul
RRepublican
TX
129
P
Photo of Greg Bonnen
Greg Bonnen
RRepublican
TX
24
P
Photo of Janie Lopez
Janie Lopez
RRepublican
TX
37
P
Photo of Marc LaHood
Marc LaHood
RRepublican
TX
121
P
Photo of Pat Curry
Pat Curry
RRepublican
TX
56
Co
Photo of Andy Hopper
Andy Hopper
RRepublican
TX
64
Co
Photo of Angelia Orr
Angelia Orr
RRepublican
TX
13
Co
Photo of Ben Bumgarner
Ben Bumgarner
RRepublican
TX
63
Co
Photo of Brent Money
Brent Money
RRepublican
TX
2
Co
Photo of Briscoe Cain
Briscoe Cain
RRepublican
TX
128
Co
Photo of Brooks Landgraf
Brooks Landgraf
RRepublican
TX
81
Co
Photo of Carl Tepper
Carl Tepper
RRepublican
TX
84
Co
Photo of Caroline Harris Davila
Caroline Harris Davila
RRepublican
TX
52
Co
Photo of Carrie Isaac
Carrie Isaac
RRepublican
TX
73
Co
Photo of Cecil Bell
Cecil Bell
RRepublican
TX
3