HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court pressed pause Tuesday afternoon on Harris County's controversial guaranteed income plan shortly after Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said the program would move forward. The first checks were supposed to go out Wednesday.
The income program, Uplift Harris, is designed to give families living in poverty $500 a month for 18 months.
All the changes come after an appeals court denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to halt the program Monday.
At Monday’s Commissioner's Court meeting, Hidalgo said the county will be "staying the course" with the program. She said the first payment is “out the door” and of the more than 1,900 people in the program, about 1,600 will receive the checks because they have been verified. About 300 people still need to send the county more documentation to receive their checks.
Paxton sued earlier this month, calling the county's plan to provide monthly payments with no restrictions to hundreds of families “unconstitutional" and an abuse of public funds. He said taxpayer money cannot be "redistributed with no accountability or reasonable expectation of a general benefit."
"Allowing $20 million in federal funds to be given away with minimal restrictions or proper auditing is bad policy," said Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey. "There are better ways to help more people in Harris County than giving 2,000 people $500 a month for 18 months with no accountability for the expenditures."
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called the court’s order disappointing.
“It's heart wrenching, I mean, it really is heart-wrenching,” Hidalgo told reporters Tuesday afternoon following the court’s decision. “And part of the conversation we had is $500 is $500, you know, and folks were counting on that money for the budget this year.”
Hidalgo explained the county began the day ready to move forward with the program, only to have it blocked by the Supreme Court.
“Our public health director pressed the button, so to speak. But before the funds began transferring, the Supreme Court made its ruling” Hidalgo said, explaining the county was less than an hour away from completing the transfer that would have distributed the first payments on Wednesday.
The legal battle now turns to the state Supreme Court.
“Right now, we’re at a standstill,” Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said.
Menefee said he is skeptical of the county’s chances to win its case, saying the ideological makeup of the justices does not favor them.
“I do not expect that we're going to get a fair shot,” Menefee said. “But we're going to do everything we can in the courtroom to ensure that the legal arguments are made and that this program is protected.”
Supporters argued that the program provides social and economic benefits to participating families and the broader community.
One of the recipients expecting the money is Robert Holley.
"It's going to help me tremendously with housing, groceries, bills," Holley said.
Holley sat in the courtroom Monday when the judge blocked the temporary injunction. He hoped everything would play out the way it was designed.
The state had filed a notice of appeal for this ruling to the First or 14th Court of Appeals in Houston. That has county commissioners skeptical about starting the program. They said they are worried about sending out payments only for the state to ask for the money back if the Supreme Court blocks the program.
Harris County has until April 29 to submit its response to the administrative stay.