Starbase, the company town spun out of Elon Musk’s SpaceX operations in South Texas, has hauled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton back into court, again asking a judge to block the release of records the city wants to keep under wraps. The latest lawsuit, filed this month in Travis County, is the newest chapter in a months-long legal tug-of-war over which communications tied to the high-profile launch site have to be made public.
Since its May incorporation, the tiny city has filed at least four lawsuits against Paxton’s office over open-records rulings that ordered information released. Three of the recent Travis County cases grew out of requests by KVEO reporter Dave Hendricks, who sought invoices and emails involving Starbase’s outside counsel and SpaceX staff, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Starbase’s attorneys argue that those invoices and messages are shielded by attorney-client privilege, trade-secret protections, or concerns that disclosure could reveal vulnerabilities tied to “critical infrastructure.” Paxton’s office has signed off on some redactions while ordering other material released, and Starbase is asking judges to wipe out those rulings.
The courtroom skirmishes are unfolding as state officials last month finally produced nearly 1,400 heavily blacked-out pages of emails between Gov. Greg Abbott and Elon Musk after a drawn-out records fight, a release many reporters said revealed almost nothing, even after all the ink. ProPublica documented both the document dump and the legal arguments the state used to justify the extensive redactions.
Adding another twist, Starbase’s elected leadership is stacked with SpaceX employees. Mayor Bobby Peden and Commissioner Jordan Buss both list SpaceX roles on the city’s roster, and many requests list SpaceX as a third party on records inquiries. That overlap has stirred questions about conflicts of interest and about whether a city effectively built around a single employer can, or should, shield communications that brush up against corporate operations, according to the City of Starbase and reporting by The Texas Tribune.
What Starbase Is Fighting To Keep Private
The Hendricks requests zeroed in on invoices from Frisco-based law firm Messer Fort and emails with Richard Cardile, SpaceX’s senior manager of spaceport operations, according to court filings. Starbase says those invoices would tip the city’s hand on privileged legal strategy or expose sensitive operational details about emergency planning and street access around the launch complex. Paxton’s Open Records Division agreed to some redactions but ordered other portions released. The city has asked judges to overturn those calls and, in one case, filed a notice to stop the suit, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
How Texas Open-Records Law Factors In
Under the Texas Public Information Act, the attorney general’s office referees disputes over what must be disclosed and what can stay secret, applying exemptions for common-law privacy, trade secrets, and certain details tied to critical infrastructure. Those are the very tools agencies and companies are leaning on more often in public-records fights. The AG’s guidance explains how those exceptions work and how government bodies and third parties can seek rulings, and open-government lawyers say a mix of recent decisions and statutory carve-outs has tilted the playing field toward withholding more communications between public entities and private firms. For background, see the Office of the Attorney General and reporting by ProPublica.
What happens next, whether judges tighten or loosen the scope of what must be disclosed in the Starbase cases, will be closely watched by reporters and residents as the new city figures out what kind of local government it will be and as other municipalities deepen partnerships with major private employers. Observers say the litigation is shaping up as a test of how far Texas open-records rules reach into company-town arrangements, and they expect appeals if courts ultimately side with Paxton’s rulings, according to The Texas Tribune.
