Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit on April 9 that seeks to enact a temporary restraining order against Harris County officials and their operation of the county's guaranteed income program, Uplift Harris. The county program is expected to start releasing funds to the awardees at the end of April, according to the Harris County Public Health department, which is overseeing the program.
Throughout the 16-page lawsuit, Paxton referred to Harris County's program as "Harris Handout" and described it in a news release as an "unlawful guaranteed income program that redistributes public money in a manner that violates the Texas Constitution."
"This scheme is plainly unconstitutional," Paxton said in the news release. “Taxpayer money must be spent lawfully and used to advance the public interest, not merely redistributed with no accountability or reasonable expectation of a general benefit. I am suing to stop officials in Harris County from abusing public funds for political gain.”
The gist
More than 1,900 eligible Harris County households living below 200% of the federal poverty line, or approximately $60,000 for a family of four, were selected from a two-stage lottery system as award recipients for Uplift Harris. Harris County Public Health received more than 82,500 applications in total.
Qualified families under the guaranteed income program will be given $500 per month for 18 consecutive months.
Sen. Paul Betterncourt, R-Houston, said in a news release that Uplift Harris violated the "gift clause" of the Texas Constitution and is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Funding for the $20.5 million program was allocated by local and state funds from the American Rescue Plan Act as part of the county’s broader strategy to address the region’s economic inequality.
The other sideThroughout the 16-page lawsuit, Paxton referred to Harris County's program as "Harris Handout" and described it in a news release as an "unlawful guaranteed income program that redistributes public money in a manner that violates the Texas Constitution."
"This scheme is plainly unconstitutional," Paxton said in the news release. “Taxpayer money must be spent lawfully and used to advance the public interest, not merely redistributed with no accountability or reasonable expectation of a general benefit. I am suing to stop officials in Harris County from abusing public funds for political gain.”
The gist
More than 1,900 eligible Harris County households living below 200% of the federal poverty line, or approximately $60,000 for a family of four, were selected from a two-stage lottery system as award recipients for Uplift Harris. Harris County Public Health received more than 82,500 applications in total.
Qualified families under the guaranteed income program will be given $500 per month for 18 consecutive months.
Sen. Paul Betterncourt, R-Houston, said in a news release that Uplift Harris violated the "gift clause" of the Texas Constitution and is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Funding for the $20.5 million program was allocated by local and state funds from the American Rescue Plan Act as part of the county’s broader strategy to address the region’s economic inequality.
When the program's application period closed in February, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a news release that reducing poverty and helping families who are struggling to meet basic needs shouldn't be a political debate.
"When our community is experiencing poverty at rates higher than other communities in Texas and around the nation, we as county leaders have a duty to do everything we can to address it. We’ll be looking into how we can fund this program long-term and hopefully help even more families in the future," Hidalgo said.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis spearheaded the county program.
"We are prepared to fight all the way to the Texas Supreme Court to protect it and invest in Harris County families," Ellis said in a news release.
Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee will represent the defendants in the suit. The hearing for the lawsuit will take place in the next few weeks, and officials with the county attorney's office will notify the public once a date is scheduled.
Digging deeper
Access to the 16-page lawsuit filed on behalf of the state of Texas can be found here:
