Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed for emergency relief with the Supreme Court of Texas (“SCOTX”) to block Harris County’s “guaranteed income” program that violates State law. Previously, the Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) sought a temporary injunction against the unlawful handout program. After a lower court denied Texas’s request for emergency relief, the OAG immediately filed an emergency motion with SCOTX. Texas is asking the Supreme Court of Texas to intervene and pause Harris County’s unlawful payments while the lower courts consider the merits of the case.
Attorney General Paxton sued Harris County earlier this month for instituting a “guaranteed income” welfare scheme that violates the Texas Constitution which 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.” The Harris handout program would select 1,928 residents to receive $500 cash payments for 18 months with “no strings attached.” Recipients are not even required to be U.S. citizens, with various classifications of noncitizens being eligible for the handouts.
“Harris County’s guaranteed income scheme plainly violates the Texas Constitution,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Harris County officials cannot continue to abuse their power and the people’s money to score political points, and we will fight every step of the way to hold them accountable.”
To read the filing, click here.