Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County, where Houston is located, over its guaranteed income program aimed at helping thousands of poor households in the county.
Paxton claims the program, called “Uplift Harris,” which will provide needy families $500 per month for 18 months, violates the Texas Constitution.
More than 1,900 eligible individuals and families were selected from the county’s ten poorest ZIP codes in February, with the first payment expected in late April.
With the attorney general now calling the program illegal, the program could be shut down just weeks before the first payment is due.
County leaders have since criticized Paxton, calling his decision “surprising, shocking and disheartening.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Harris County, where Houston is located, over its guaranteed income program aimed at helping thousands of poor households in the county.
Paxton claims the program, called “Uplift Harris,” which will provide needy families $500 per month for 18 months, violates the Texas Constitution.
The controversial program approved by county commissioners last year allocated $20.5 million from American Rescue Plan funds and selected registered individuals by lottery.
Paxton blasted the program in his lawsuit, saying the funds were specifically intended to be used for COVID-19 relief initiatives.
“There’s no such thing as free money, especially in Texas. The Texas Constitution expressly prohibits giving public funds to benefit individuals – a common-sense protection to prevent cronyism and ensure that public funds benefit all citizens,” Paxton’s lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also calls the program a “socialist experiment by Lina Hidalgo and progressive Democrats.”
County leaders have since taken to social media to express their disappointment, as they are expected to issue a press release about the lawsuit on Wednesday.
Commissioner Rodney Ellis wrote on X: “This is not about constitutionality. This is about maintaining a system that favors billionaires and starves working families.
County Attorney Christian D. Menefee agreed and wrote, “This is nothing more than an attack on local government and an attempt to grab headlines.” »
“I will vigorously defend the county and this program in court,” he added, saying the county would continue to implement the program until a court order blocks it.
He told KHOU11: “It’s incredibly surprising, shocking and disheartening. More than 1,900 families right here in Harris County were to receive $500 per month to help them deal with economic problems here in our county.
“But instead, because of the actions of a group of politicians in Austin, these people are now going to be put on hold,” he added.
County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said, “This is nothing more than an attack on local government and an attempt to grab headlines. »
More than 82,000 applications were submitted for the program, and the lottery system ultimately narrowed that number to 1,928, according to Menefee.
A 2023 Kinder poll shows that more than 775% of respondents support the idea of a universal basic income for low-income working adults.
But the program faced backlash from conservatives after it was approved in June last year.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt celebrated the packing of Paxton’s court Tuesday, dubbing the guaranteed income program “lottery socialism” in an X-article.
“I call it ‘lottery socialism’ and I’m glad to see the MPC is taking this seriously to the point of not only responding to my request for advice, but also taking legal action against the ‘Uplift’ program of Harris County!” he wrote.
“AG is right; “it violates the Texas Constitution’s ‘gift cause’ and uses a random lottery as opposed to rational classification,” he added.
In a statement announcing the filler, Paxton said the lottery-based document violated the state constitution “because the selection of recipients is inherently arbitrary.”
“Taxpayer dollars must be spent lawfully and used to promote the public interest, not simply redistributed without accountability or reasonable expectation of general benefit,” he said.
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