HOUSTON - The Texas Supreme Court has granted an administrative stay today, temporarily blocking Harris County’s “guaranteed income” program after Attorney General Ken Paxton filed for emergency relief.
Last week, a district court denied the state’s request to temporarily block Harris County from disbursing funds to families participating in Uplift Harris, a guaranteed basic income pilot program.
Paxton sued the county for instituting the program, which he argues redistributes public money in a manner that allegedly violates the Texas Constitution.
“Harris County’s guaranteed income scheme plainly violates the Texas Constitution,” said Paxton. “Harris County officials cannot continue to abuse their power and the people’s money to score political points, and we will fight every step of the way to hold them accountable.”
Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee says the decision is disappointing, but not surprising.
“It’s unfortunate the court would take such an extraordinary step to block a program that would help people in Harris County—even temporarily,” Menefee said. “The Court knew that the first payments were scheduled to go out tomorrow. I will keep fighting to protect this program, and I look forward to continuing to argue that Uplift Harris is good legally and morally.”
Announced by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in 2023, the program would randomly select 1,928 eligible Harris County residents by lottery to receive $500 cash payments for 18 months with “no strings attached.”
The money comes from the $20.5 million the county received through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act.
Paxton maintains that the Texas Constitution expressly forbids “any county, city, town or other political corporation or subdivision of the State … to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual.”
He further asserts that Harris County’s “lottery-based handout” violates the Texas Constitution because the selection of recipients is inherently arbitrary.
Harris County has responded that each applicant had to meet income and geographic restrictions, and randomized selection of qualified applications does not violate the Texas Constitution.