L.A. Daily News – Antelope Valley
But the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, decided to hold off until next year after objections were raised from space advocates over language calling for holding the industry to the “highest standards of safety when transporting humans.”
Interesting that the chief sponsor is founder o the Society for Individual Liberty, Dana Rohrabacher. This is one of the guys who split from the conservative Young Americans for Freedom in the early 70s in the move that led to the formation of the Libertarian Party. In spite of the headline, what’s actually happening appears to be that there is going to be regulation (FAA has already granted itself the authority to issue SpaceShipOne a permit) and he’s trying to do two things. 1: Keep it to as small an amount as possible. 2: Assign all authority to one office, so that entrepreneurs at least know that once the permit is issued other agencies can’t undo it.
Still, it seems odd to read an article about new regulation and see the name of a libertarian hero as the sponsor of the bill.