Attorney General Ken Paxton Stops Second Harris County “Guaranteed Income” Scheme
Preventing Public Money from Being Unlawfully Redistributed.
December 16, 2024 – Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a stay preventing Harris County from restarting its unlawful “guaranteed income” program after the County made an attempt to sidestep a court order halting a similar program.
A guaranteed income program is a way to provide regular cash payments to individuals to supplement their income. These programs are also known as guaranteed basic income, basic income guarantee, or unconditional basic income. Guaranteed income programs are intended to: Reduce poverty and inequality, Empower individuals to use the funds as they see fit and Create an income floor that no one can fall below
In April 2024, Attorney General Paxton sued Harris County to stop its original “guaranteed income” program that unlawfully distributed public money with “no strings attached.” The Texas Supreme Court ordered the County to pause the program and not distribute any funds while litigation continued. However, the Harris County Commissioners Court attempted to restart the program by enacting a virtually identical one—with significantly increased administrative costs—in blatant violation of the Supreme Court’s order. Attorney General Paxton sued and has now obtained another stay blocking Harris County from implementing any aspect of the program.
The Texas Constitution explicitly forbids “any county, city, town or other political corporation or subdivision of the State … to grant public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual.” When ruling on the original program, the Texas Supreme Court noted 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.”
“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.”
