Texas Supreme Court orders Harris County not to make payments under guaranteed income program

The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a ruling barring Harris County from launching a guaranteed income program that is currently being challenged by Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The decision comes just days after Houston Judge Ursula Hall rejected Paxton’s arguments that the Uplift Harris program, which distributes monthly wages to more than 1,900 low-income residents, is unconstitutional.

“If the program includes a public benefit, it does not violate the constitution,” Houston Landing said.

Paxton’s lawyers argued that taxpayer money must be used in the public interest for a general benefit.

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The Harris County Commissioners Court adopted Uplift Harris last year by a 4-1 vote.

The guaranteed income pilot program would allow participating households to receive $500 per month for 18 months. The program began on January 12 and currently has 1,924 applicants enrolled.

Paxton filed suit seeking an immediate injunction to prevent Uplift Harris from making payments under the program, which the Texas Supreme Court granted.

“Without regard to the merits, the court grants an administrative stay as follows: the real parties in interest and their agents are prohibited from making payments under the Uplift Harris program, pending further order of the Court,” the ruling states .

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UpTogether, an organization with a mission to invest in people from historically undervalued communities by influencing policy and mobilizing systems for change, responded to the court’s ruling on Tuesday, calling the decision “disgraceful.”

“Today’s shameful decision means that thousands of Texas residents experiencing financial hardship will be denied an opportunity for financial stability and upward mobility for the foreseeable future,” said UpTogether Executive Director Jesús Gerena. “By blocking Uplift Harris, the state Supreme Court has thrown aside any notion of judicial restraint and joined Ken Paxton’s circus act in which he continues to use people’s everyday survival as a political football.”

Gerena added that what Paxton was doing “is cruel, it’s deceptive and it’s opportunistic.”

However, Paxton continues to fight what he says is unconstitutional.

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“I am pleased that the Texas Supreme Court has blocked Harris County from paying these illegal payments,” Paxton said. “I look forward to continuing to defend our Constitution and prevent this misuse of taxpayer dollars.”

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in February that while migrants live in poverty, “supporting them helps us all and has good downstream effects on all of us.”

After hearing the news that the payments would not be able to go out immediately, she said her heart “breaks” for the families.

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“This is the state trying to bully Harris County again, and these families are caught in the middle,” Hidalgo said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The attorney general has known for a year that we have this program, so we were really surprised to see them try to block it after we had already selected and notified the recipients. I’ve already heard stories of people expecting these. funds and I hate having to give them conflicting information every day, but I can say that we will continue to fight.”

Harris County has until April 29 to respond to the emergency relief motion to the Texas Supreme Court.

Joshua Q. Nelson of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.