The program has become a target of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a lawsuit this month in an effort to block its implementation.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement at his office, May 26, 2023, in Austin. The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, ordered Harris County, which includes Houston, to put on hold for now a guaranteed income program that would provide $500 monthly cash payments to roughly 2,000 residents. The program has become a target of Paxton.
“What we are seeing is the attorney general selectively enforcing the Texas Constitution against the county that he thinks he can make the most headlines off of,” Menefee said, adding that the lawsuit appeared to be a political move against an area with rising Democratic political power.The program would provide cash payments to more than 1,900 qualifying county residents for 1½ years.
Paxton argued that the program, which he calls the “Harris Handout,” violates a line in the state constitution that prohibits local governments, political corporations or state entities from granting “public money or thing of value in aid of, or to any individual.”“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,” Paxton said in a statement Tuesday.
The lawsuit comes as the county has remained at odds with state Republican leaders for years, leading to multiple legal battles.In 2021, state lawmakers passed voting legislation that targeted programs — implemented by the Harris County the previous year — to facilitate voting during the COVID-19 pandemic for the county’s more than 2 million voters.
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