The Supreme Court of Texas ruled against Harris County’s guaranteed income program Friday, continuing to block the county from sending checks to participants.
In an opinion written by Justice James D. Blacklock, the court said the state raised “serious doubt” about the constitutionality of the program.
“Temporarily preventing expenditure of these funds while the State’s appeal proceeds ensures public funds are not irrecoverably spent in violation of the Texas Constitution,” Blacklock wrote. “Whether Harris County’s proposal would actually violate the Texas Constitution remains an open question at this early stage of the litigation.”
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee called the decision “disappointing” and said it could set a precedent to target other guaranteed income programs throughout the country. He also said his office will continue to fight for the program.
“Helping the poor is part of our job in government,” Menefee wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “That’s why programs like this exist across the country and our state. This decision could end Uplift Harris as it exists today.”
The move by the state’s highest court comes after Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the county in April, just days before the guaranteed income program, Uplift Harris, was set to begin dispersing payments to selected applicants.
Two lower courts in Houston denied Paxton’s attempts to block the program. Paxton then appealed to the Texas Supreme Court to weigh in and stop the county from issuing payments, which resulted in Friday’s emergency stay.
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Nearly 60 cities and counties across the country, including Austin and San Antonio, have launched similar guaranteed income programs. Neither of those two Texas cities — nor any others across the United States — have faced litigation.
While county officials and the attorney general sparred in state district court, Austin’s city council approved a $1.3 million contract to continue its guaranteed income program.
See here for the previous update. Just a reminder, this ruling was on a writ of mandamus filed by the state to prevent Harris County from proceeding with the program while the state appealed the original ruling that allowed them to do exactly that. The law may or may not be an ass, but it sure can be confounding sometimes. If you can power your way through the legalistic argle-bargle of this ruling (which at least is only 14 pages long), it’s clear that SCOTx is skeptical of Harris County’s case. When and if the appeal of the original ruling makes its way to the top, it seems like Harris County is in for a rough go of it. Austin and San Antonio, you may not be in the spotlight now, but buckle up. Your time is coming. The Chron has more.
This is a realty check for local politicians meandering on the legal limits.