Houston-area program to give $500 monthly payments to some residents on hold after Texas lawsuit

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Supreme Court connected Tuesday ordered Harris County, which includes Houston, to enactment connected clasp a guaranteed income programme that would supply $500 monthly currency payments to astir 2,000 residents.

The programme has go a people of Republican Texas Attorney General Paxton, who has accused section Democratic leaders of trying to “score governmental points” done the inaugural and filed a suit this period successful an effort to artifact its implementation. The programme is the latest rift betwixt authorities and section leaders successful the Houston area, wherever Democrats successful caller years person gained governmental ground.

The Texas precocious tribunal — which is made up wholly of Republican justices — made nary ruling connected the merits of the program, known arsenic Uplift Harris. Still, the 9 justices ordered the region to enactment the programme connected intermission portion the justices measurement its legality.

If implemented, Harris County would go 1 of the largest counties successful the state with guaranteed income programs that person been replicated since the pandemic. Other large Texas cities, including Austin and San Antonio, person antecedently offered guaranteed income programs but did not look a suit by the state.

"This bonzer enactment is disappointing but not astonishing fixed however governmental the all-Republican tribunal has become," Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee posted connected X. “I volition proceed to combat to support Uplift Harris successful this case.”

The programme would supply currency payments to much than 1,900 qualifying region residents for 1 1/2 years. Eligible recipients indispensable reside successful an country identified with a precocious poorness complaint and person a household income beneath 200% of the national poorness line, which is astir $30,000 for a single-person household.

It is funded by $20.5 cardinal from President Joe Biden's 2021 pandemic alleviation bundle and follows successful the footsteps of dozens of cities and counties crossed the state that person implemented guaranteed income programs to trim poorness and inequality.

Paxton argued that the program, which helium calls the “Harris Handout,” violates a enactment successful the authorities constitution that prohibits section governments, governmental corporations oregon authorities entities from granting “public wealth oregon happening of worth successful assistance of, oregon to immoderate individual.”

“Harris County officials cannot proceed to maltreatment their powerfulness and the people’s wealth to people governmental points, and we volition combat each measurement of the mode to clasp them accountable," Paxton said successful a connection Tuesday pursuing his entreaty to the state's highest civilian court.

Meanwhile, Harris County officials continued to propulsion back, arguing that the determination was politicized and pointed to orders by 2 little courts, which did not intermission the program.

According to Harris County officials, the region received much than 82,000 applications for the programme by the February 2 deadline and organisation of the funds was acceptable to statesman tomorrow.

The suit comes arsenic the region has remained astatine likelihood with authorities Republican leaders for years, starring to aggregate ineligible battles.

In 2021, authorities lawmakers passed voting authorities which targeted programs — implemented by the region the erstwhile twelvemonth — to facilitate voting during the COVID-19 pandemic for the county's much than 2 cardinal voters.

During the state's adjacent legislative league successful 2023, GOP lawmakers passed caller laws seeking much power implicit Harris County elections.

Last year, authorities acquisition leaders took implicit the Houston schoolhouse district, the state’s largest, aft years of complaints implicit pupil performance.