Just part of the process at this point.
Harris County’s second version of a guaranteed income program has been blocked as it awaits a final appeal after a recent court order stopped the county from distributing funds under the revamped cash assistance program.
The move is the latest in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s battle against what he has called a guaranteed income “scheme,” and a struggle between Harris County leaders’ goal to support low-income households amidst the murky constitutionality of cash assistance programs and Republican leaders’ criticism of handouts.
“Harris County is not above the law and cannot ignore the Texas Constitution,” said Attorney General Paxton. “They made a blatant attempt to end-run a Texas Supreme Court ruling by duplicating their unlawful handout program, and we have successfully blocked them yet again.”
[…]
In his original petition in April, Paxton’s office called the first-version of Harris County’s guaranteed income program a ‘socialist experiment’ at the hands of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. While the litigation for the $20.5 million Uplift Harris program was still ongoing, the clock was ticking to use the necessary funding from American Rescue Plan Act, which must be allocated by the end of 2024. So, Harris County launched a second version of the program called the “Community Prosperity Program” in August.
But despite modifications, Paxton sued Harris County over its second version of the cash assistance program in September, calling it unconstitutional. In October, a Harris County judge sided with Harris County on the program. But a request to speed up the appeals process was granted by the Fifteenth Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 6, meaning that in the following two weeks the county and state have to get their opinions filed, Harris County cannot hand out money through the second version of the program.
See here and here for the previous updates, and here for the court’s order. All of the briefing should be done by early to mid-January, with a court date (not yet set, or at least not set in this order) likely to be shortly after. After that it goes to the Supreme Court, which is where it was always headed again. I don’t have anything new to add, we’re just watching the wheels go ’round and ’round. KHOU has more.
let him live in 900 a month and see if he can pay rent electric buy food and dont put homeless off the streets they dont have money for rent i could not get anything for granchildren for chritmas with 900 a month