Attorney General Ken Paxton has successfully obtained a stay to prevent Harris County from reinitiating its "guaranteed income" program. This decision follows the county's attempt to bypass a court order that previously halted a similar initiative.
Earlier this year, in April 2024, Attorney General Paxton filed a lawsuit against Harris County to stop its initial "guaranteed income" program. The program was criticized for distributing public funds without conditions. The Texas Supreme Court had ordered the county to suspend the program and refrain from disbursing any funds while legal proceedings were ongoing. Despite this, the Harris County Commissioners Court attempted to revive the program by implementing a nearly identical version with higher administrative costs, which violated the Supreme Court's directive. In response, Attorney General Paxton filed another lawsuit and secured a stay that prevents Harris County from proceeding with any part of the program.
The Texas Constitution prohibits any governmental entity within the state from granting public money or valuable items to individuals. When assessing the original program, the Texas Supreme Court expressed concerns about its constitutionality, stating that "the State has raised serious doubts about the constitutionality of the Uplift Harris program, and this potential violation of the Texas Constitution could not be remedied or undone if payments were to commence while the underlying appeal proceeds."
Attorney General Paxton emphasized that "Harris County is not above the law and cannot ignore the Texas Constitution." He added, "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."