Texas Opens It's Beaches with a Constitutional Amendment!

After an organized and integrated effort on behalf of the Texas Chapters to promote our beach access goals on a statewide level, the people of Texas passed a constitutional amendment through a statewide vote. The “Prop 9” amendment created a constitutional “right” to beach access. The constitutional amendment protects “the right of the public, individually and collectively, to access and use the public beaches bordering the seaward shore of the Gulf of Mexico.” The people of Texas voted approximately 75% in favor of the amendment. Texas constitutional acts are very strong and require a two-thirds majority of the Texas state legislature to change (instead of a simple majority). The amendment also sends a strong message to developers and politicians about open beach access. This constitutional amendment will help to support the Texas Open Beaches Act, which passed in 1959 to guarantee public beach access all of Texas’ 367 miles of coast. It will also help to defend the TXOBA in any litigation cases that challenge the law.