The Republican-controlled Texas Supreme Court has put a hold on Harris County’s guaranteed income program known as “Uplift Harris.” The county was less than an hour from sending out the first round of $500 checks when the high court granted an administrative stay in the state’s petition to stop the program. So far, 1,600 families were set to receive the funds, with an additional 300 still needing to complete paperwork. The Supreme Court’s decision came after an appeals court denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s emergency motion to block the county from sending checks to residents on Monday. The temporary injunction hearing came more than a week after Paxton sued the county over the program, claiming it violates the state Constitution’s ban on cities and counties gifting public funds to people or corporations. Paxton had asked the judge to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the program from moving forward.
“Today’s decision is disappointing but not surprising given how politicized we’ve seen the Texas Supreme Court become,” said Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee. “We’ve already seen one justice publicly disparage Harris County officials during a speech at a political event and make clear his goal of undermining the County. It’s unfortunate the court would take such an extraordinary step to block a program that would help people in Harris County-even temporarily. The Court knew that the first payments were scheduled to go out tomorrow. I will keep fighting to protect this program, and I look forward to continuing to argue that Uplift Harris is good legally and morally.”
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis also expressed disappointment with the court’s decision, stating that “this program would have provided much-needed assistance to families struggling to make ends meet.” He added that the county would continue to explore all options to ensure that the program can be implemented.
