{"id":2268846,"date":"2024-06-16T09:23:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-16T13:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-supreme-court-halts-harris-county-guaranteed-income-program\/"},"modified":"2024-06-16T09:26:33","modified_gmt":"2024-06-16T13:26:33","slug":"texas-supreme-court-halts-harris-county-guaranteed-income-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-supreme-court-halts-harris-county-guaranteed-income-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Supreme Court blocks Harris County&#8217;s &#8216;Guaranteed Income&#8217; initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftexas-supreme-court-halts-harris-county-guaranteed-income-program%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2268846&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Texas\u200c Supreme Court has once again intervened to stop a\u200d &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/radical-cultural-change-coming-to-america\/\" title=\"Radical Cultural Change Coming to America?\">guaranteed income<\/a>&#8221; pilot program \u2062in Harris County, which \u200bhad been\u2062 initiated to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-legislature-unanimously-passes-nations-first-state-funded-guaranteed-income-plan-newsom-advisor-says-the-next-stop-is-the-fed-govt\/\" title=\"CA Legislature Unanimously Passes Nation\u2019s First State-Funded Guaranteed Income Plan, Newsom Advisor Says: \u2018The Next Stop Is The Fed Govt\u2019\">provide monthly cash payments<\/a> to local residents\u200d using COVID-19 relief funds. The program, known\u200c as &#8220;Uplift Harris,&#8221; was \u2063first\u2064 challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,\u2063 citing concerns over its legality under the Texas Constitution. \u200bDespite initial\u2062 approvals from lower courts, the Supreme\u200d Court \u200bhalted the program pending further review, noting\u2064 the serious constitutional issues raised by\u2063 the state. The proposed scheme \u2062intended to distribute\u200c $500 monthly for 18 months to 1,928 residents, \u2064funded by the \u20632021 American \u200cRescue \u200bPlan\u2063 Act. However, controversy\u200b arose about \u200dthe usage of these funds and lack of \u2064oversight on how they \u2064would be \u200bspent. As a \u200cresult, the program\u2019s\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-passes-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-69-30\/\" title=\"Senate passes bipartisan infrastructure bill 69-30\">future remains uncertain<\/a> as the\u2063 court deliberates on \u2063its constitutionality, with \u2063concerns that unmonitored spending could potentially lead to\u2064 misuse of the funds, \u200cincluding criminal \u200cactivities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square) \u2013 The Texas Supreme Court halted a \u201cguaranteed income\u201d pilot program launched by Harris County on Friday, likely setting the stage for the program to be scrapped altogether.<\/p>\n<p>In a 12-page ruling, Justice Jimmy Blacklock delivered the opinion for the court, granting the state\u2019s motion to halt the program and ordered all payments \u201cprohibited pending further order of this court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is the second time the high court has ruled on, and halted, the program.<\/p>\n<p>In April, the Texas Supreme Court issued an administrative stay to temporarily block Harris County\u2019s \u201cUplift Harris\u201d guaranteed income pilot program from going into effect until the court could hear the case, granting an emergency request filed by Attorney General Ken Paxton, The Center Square reported.<\/p>\n<p>Harris County first announced its plan in June 2023 to use $20.5 million in COVID-19 relief money it received through the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to \u201cprovide no-strings-attached $500 monthly cash payments to 1,928 Harris County residents for 18 months.\u201d The Democratic-controlled Harris County Commissioner\u2019s Court approved the program despite the federal government stipulating that the funds could only be used for COVID-19-related programs.<\/p>\n<p>In January, state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, sounded the alarm, saying the program is illegal and requested Paxton to issue a formal opinion. Paxton sued in April to stop the program.<\/p>\n<p>By February, more than 82,000 Harris County residents had applied to participate; by April, the county had chosen participants who were slated to receive their first payment April 24.<\/p>\n<p>Paxton\u2019s lawsuit argues Uplift Harris violates the Texas Constitution, which prohibits \u201cany county, city, town or other political corporation or subdivision of the State \u2026 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-harris-county-guaranteed-income-program\/\" title=\"Texas Supreme Court halts Harris County basic income initiative temporarily\">grant public money<\/a> or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two courts first ruled against him. The 165th District Court and the 14th Court of Appeals denied his request for a temporary injunction, ruling in favor of Harris County. Paxton then filed and emergency appeal with the Texas Supreme Court. It first temporarily halted the program in April, preventing any payments from being made.<\/p>\n<p>It handed Paxton a second win on Friday, more permanently blocking the payments from being made.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe conclude that the State\u2019s motion for temporary relief should be granted,\u201d Justice Blacklock said in the ruling. \u201cAlthough we make no definitive statement about the merits, the State has raised serious doubt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later on in the ruling, he points out that Harris County has no plans to oversee how the money is spent, raising concerns that it could be usedto potentially commit crimes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUplift Harris has advertised a \u2018no strings attached\u2019 stipend to those lucky enough to win its lottery. It appears there will be no public control over the funds after they are disbursed,\u201d he writes. \u201cIt likewise appears there will be no monitoring of the recipients\u2019 day-to-day purchases, so it is unlikely the County will know how recipients spend the money and whether any legitimate public purpose was achievedthereby.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe application states that funds must not be used for terrorism, fraud, or other nefarious activities, but we are given no indication that the County intends to, or even could, meaningfully enforce these restrictions or truly monitor the recipients\u2019 expenditures. Indeed, a County official testified that the program is not designed \u201cto monitor what people do with the things they buy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His ruling contradicts a claim made by Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, who is defending the program in court. Menefee argued it doesn\u2019t violate the Texas Constitution because it serves a \u201c\u2018public purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response to the ruling, Paxton said, \u201cHarris County\u2019s guaranteed income scheme is a clear and flagrant violation of the Texas Constitution.\u201d The Texas Supreme Court \u201chas stepped in and put a stop to this abuse of power and unlawful use of taxpayer money while the case continues.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Menefee said the ruling, which he disagreed with, was a \u201cdisappointing move.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ruling \u201ccould impact how the GOP attacks similar programs across the U.S.,\u201d he said. \u201cHelping the poor is part of our job in government. That\u2019s why programs like this exist across the country and our state. This decision could end Uplift Harris as it exists today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He said his office \u201cwill keep fighting for Harris County residents and local control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Justice Blacklock notes that while the case is before two lower courts, the state\u2019s appeal of the 14th Court of Appeals\u2019 denial of a temporary injunction remains pending, \u201cwhich we expect will proceed expeditiously to a decision.\u201dThe appeals court\u2019s decision could also be appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Texas Supreme Court stopped Harris County&#8217;s &#8220;guaranteed income&#8221; pilot program on Friday, potentially leading to its cancellation. In a 12-page decision, Justice Jimmy Blacklock, representing the court, approved the state&#8217;s request to cease the program, directing all involved to comply immediately<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2268847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/iStock-612489244.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2268846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/iStock-612489244.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2268846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2268846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2268847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2268846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2268846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2268846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}