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Harris County, TX, June 14, 2024, Today, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion further extending its initial pause of Harris County's Uplift Harris guaranteed income program. Uplift Harris is a pilot guaranteed income program in which around 1,900 low-income Harris County residents would receive $500 a month for eighteen months. The program was inspired by other such initiatives around the country and the state, including in the City of Austin and Cook County, Illinois. Paxton sued Harris County in April to block Uplift Harris payments from going out, claiming that the program violated the Texas Constitution's ban on the gift of public funds and equal protection clause.

The trial court denied the State's proposed temporary injunction, and the Fourteenth Court of Appeals rejected the State's attempt to pause the program while its appeal was pending. The Court's ruling today blocks the program while it considers Attorney General Ken Paxton's petition for a writ of mandamus that would pause the program for the duration of the State's appeal. The Court claims the program's "no strings attached" nature means that the County doesn't retain controls sufficient to make the payments constitutional.

"I am extremely disappointed by the Texas Supreme Court's decision today," said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. "Uplift Harris is a poverty alleviation program modeled on other guaranteed income programs across the country. Local governments exist in part to help the less fortunate among us, and the Supreme Court's ruling effectively ends a program that has proven to be highly successful at allowing lower-income folks to lift themselves out of poverty."

"The ruling also sets a dangerous precedent—most state constitutions have bans on gifting public funds, but no other state court has barred guaranteed income programs on those grounds. And of course they haven't, because those bans are there to stop cronyism and gratuitous gifts of tax dollars. They aren't intended to stop governments from providing public benefits. This ruling creates a playbook for conservatives who want to stop government from fulfilling one of its core functions."

County Attorney Menefee will continue to litigate against Paxton's efforts to permanently block Uplift Harris, and will advise Commissioners Court on the potential implications of this ruling for the future of the program.

“The Texas Supreme Court’s ruling today is especially cruel. For one, these programs have gone from start to finish in other Texas jurisdictions. Furthermore, one cannot help but imagine that politics played a role here. Three longtime Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges were ousted this past March after the Attorney General targeted them. Republican elected officials know that the Attorney General can mobilize the Trump political machine to oust those he does not believe are far enough to the right.

While this decision is not a final ruling against Uplift Harris, the program is currently paused indefinitely, and the Texas Supreme Court strongly signaled that they will rule against Uplift Harris in the future. The Attorney General is not only attacking Harris County’s right to local control; he’s attacking the hardworking, everyday families living in poverty who were promised this money and who were counting on these payments to stay afloat.” 

I am also concerned about precedent. We’ve seen time and time again that each time Texas Republicans take a step, no matter how egregious, Republican leaders around the nation match it. This ruling is a loss not just for Harris County and Texas, but for jurisdictions across the nation that have found success with similar programs but live in Republican-led states,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. 

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