The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday barred Harris County from starting the Guaranteed Income Program, a case currently being argued by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The ruling came days after Houston County Judge Ursula Hall rejected Paxton’s argument that the Uplift Harris program, which distributes monthly benefits to more than 1,900 low-income residents, is unconstitutional. I was disappointed.
The Houston Landing reported that Hall said, “Even if a program contains a public interest, it does not violate the Constitution.”
Paxton’s lawyers argued that taxpayer funds must be used in the public interest for the general good.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Harris County, arguing that the county’s guaranteed income program is unconstitutional. (Dylan Hollingsworth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Harris County Commissioners Court passed Uplift Harris on a 4-1 vote last year.
Under the Guaranteed Income Test, participating households will receive $500 per month for 18 months. The program began on January 12th and currently has 1,924 applicants.
Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate judgment withholding payments under Uplift Harris’ program, which the Texas Supreme Court granted.
“Regardless of the merits of the case, the Court grants an administrative injunction as follows: Interested Substantive Parties and their agents are prohibited from making payments under the Uplift Harris Program pending further order of this Court. “,” the judgment says.
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Paxton filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate judgment withholding payments under Uplift Harris’ program, which the Texas Supreme Court granted. (Getty Images)
UpTogether, an organization with a mission to invest in people in historically underrepresented communities by influencing policy and mobilizing systems for change, responded to the court’s decision on Tuesday. called it “disgraceful”.
“Today’s shameful decision means thousands of Texans facing economic hardship will be denied financial stability and opportunities for upward mobility for the foreseeable future.” said CEO Jesús Llerena. “By blocking Uplift Harris, the state Supreme Court is abandoning any notion of judicial restraint and allowing Ken Paxton to continue to participate in his ongoing circus show and use people’s daily survival as a political football. ing.”
Jelena added that what Paxton is doing is “cruel, deceitful and opportunistic.”
Still, Paxton continues to fight what he claims are constitutional violations.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he was pleased with the Texas Supreme Court’s decision. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“We are pleased that the Texas Supreme Court has blocked Harris County from making these illegal payments,” Paxton said. “I look forward to continuing to defend the Constitution and stop this egregious misuse of tax dollars.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in February that immigrants live in poverty and that “helping them helps all of us and is good for all of us downstream.”
She said she was “heartbroken” for her family after hearing the news that the payments would not be made immediately.
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“The state is trying to bully Harris County again, and these families are caught in the middle,” Hidalgo told Fox News Digital. “The Attorney General has known for a year that we were planning this program and they blocked it even though we had already selected and notified the recipients. I was really surprised to see that I tried. I’ve already heard from people who were expecting these things. I hate having to give them contradictory information every day, but I I can tell you that we are going to keep fighting.”
Harris County has until April 29 to respond to an emergency petition seeking relief from the Texas Supreme Court.
Fox News Digital’s Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
