Texas Supreme Court blocks Harris County guaranteed income program

The Texas Supreme Court blocked Harris County's guaranteed income program a day before participants, some of the most impoverished families in the region, were supposed to begin receiving financial aid.

The county-led pilot program called "Uplift Harris" is modeled after similar programs in Texas and around the country and aims to bring 2,000 low-income families out of deep poverty with monthly $500 payments. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the program earlier this month, calling it a "socialist experiment." Last week a federal appeals court and a Texas judge both allowed the program to move forward and begin disbursing payments, but Paxton appealed to the state's Republican-led highest court. The Supreme Court's move Wednesday puts the program back on hold until the justices issue their ruling.

Harris County now must respond to the Supreme Court by 4:30 p.m. April 29. The County Commission's agenda Tuesday included a decision on whether to send out payments that had originally been scheduled for this week.

County Attorney Christian Menefee said the Supreme Court's act was "disappointing but not surprising."

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has long defended the pilot program, which has been in the works for over a year. In an interview on Houston Matters Wednesday morning, Hidalgo said she expected the court to rule in Paxton's favor even though President Donald Trump has implemented similar policies to put stimulus money directly into individuals' pockets.

"The Texas Supreme Court as we know is partisan...and is most likely to rule against us," Hidalgo said. 

"My heart breaks for these families," Hidalgo continued. "This is the state once again trying to bully Harris County, and these folks get caught in the middle."