Matt Fleming: Taking on the corruption of the state Coastal Commission

At least one lawmaker is concerned with the corruption on the California Coastal Commission.

It’s not much, but it’s a start.

You might remember that a few months back the CCC denied SpaceX’s request for additional rocket launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara, and now Corona Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli has introduced legislation to overturn the decision.

According to The Sacramento Bee, commissioners were ostensibly concerned with SpaceX’s  workplace injuries and “allegations of a toxic workplace culture.”

“This pattern of negligence should not be overlooked, and it reflects poorly on the stewardship of the company and its leadership,” Commissioner Gretchen Newsom (no relation to Gavin Newsom) said at the hearing, according to The Bee.

Wow, sounds a lot like the Legislature. Or the California Department of Education. Or the Lottery. Or many other departments in the California government. Newsom is apparently very selective with her outrage.

Of course, I jest. Newsom’s problem with SpaceX wasn’t policy-based. It was purely political.

“Elon Musk is hopping about the country, spewing and tweeting political falsehoods and attacking [the Federal Emergency Management Agency],” Newsom said at the public meeting, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

At the time Musk, who is SpaceX’s CEO, was campaigning with then-candidate Donald Trump, which had nothing to do with the CCC but ruffled feathers nonetheless. Commissioner Mike Wilson made his disgust clear that Musk had made comments about “political retribution” while “standing next to a candidate who ‘openly promotes and is working to normalize that language … and we have to push back against that,’” according to SF Gate.

Again, none of this has anything to do with the CCC or rockets or anything like that. And while the CCC commissioners are not the first politicians to give someone a hard time in order to nurse a grudge, they are rare in that they are foolish and arrogant enough to say it aloud.

Their actions highlight massive flaws in the sprawling network of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats who have significant power that is easily abused. The denial of SpaceX is corrupt and does not appear to do anything to further the work of the CCC. That, coupled with the commissioners’ extremely poor judgment, should offend all lawmakers and compel them to action.

But so far it’s just Essayli. His bill, Assembly Bill 10, will simply overturn the CCC’s decision and grant SpaceX’s request for additional launches.

Essayli’s bill makes the case against the CCC not only on grounds of free speech, which Musk was exercising with his political activities, but also to further national defense.

“Representatives from the United States Department of the Air Force and United States Space Force testified during the October 10, 2024, meeting that SpaceX operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base are integral to advancing national security interests, and that SpaceX launches, including those for commercial purposes, constitute federal agency activity,” according to AB 10.

In truth, Essayli’s bill should go further in reforming the CCC and preventing future abuses of power. But it’s unlikely Democrats in the Legislature would go along with any meaningful attempt to reform any of these unaccountable government entities.

So AB 10 is a start.

“This is a first step in bringing necessary reforms to an out-of-control bureaucracy,” Essayli told me. “My bill takes direct aim at the latest overreach by the commission, whose decision to deny SpaceX’s application was widely criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, including Gov. Newsom. This bill will give the governor a clear opportunity to put his political power where his mouth is.”

AB 10 should be made law as soon as humanly possible.

Follow Matt Fleming on X @FlemingWords