Harris County leaders are considering a second attempt at a guaranteed income program, offering participants debit cards with some limits on spending rather than the unrestricted monthly stipends previously envisioned.
Talk of reviving the program known as Uplift Harris comes two months after the Texas Supreme Court blocked the earlier effort on constitutional grounds.
The high court took up the pilot program at the behest of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who contended the initiative that would have given $500 monthly stipends to more than 1,900 households for 18 months violated the Texas constitution. The program was to be underwritten with $20.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Paxton has argued the program would violate the constitution’s prohibition on giving public money or anything of value to private individuals. He also took issue with the county’s use of a lottery to select participants, saying it violated the constitution’s equal rights provisions.
EARLIER: Texas Supreme Court continues to block Harris County’s guaranteed income program
County officials criticized the state’s efforts to block the program, saying the intent of Uplift Harris, which would allow recipients to spend the money with virtually no restrictions, was to help lift families out of poverty.
With County Judge Lina Hidalgo dubbing it “Uplift Harris 2.0,” Commissioners Court on Tuesday night weighed two options for reviving the program: re-enroll previously selected participants with a direct debit card and stricter spending restrictions or expand eligibility to all Harris County residents living below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.The second option would require requiring a new application and selection process, as well as a new vendor to operate the program.
Most members of Commissioners Court Tuesday night indicated their support for the first option. Court members also asked Harris County Public Health and the county attorney’s office to amend the existing contract with GiveDirectly, the vendor helping administer the program.
“Of course, that’s not the spirit of a guaranteed income program, but it will be helpful and it would help us be able to provide those dollars that those almost 2,000 low-income families were already counting on and budgeted for,” Hidalgo said.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, who long has opposed the guaranteed income program, said he will not support Uplift Harris in any capacity.
A county steering committee tasked with vetting spending proposals utilizing federal American Rescue Plan Act funds discussed the debit card option Wednesday, at the suggestion of Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones.
The committee, which consists of two representatives from each commissioner’s office and recommends projects to Commissioners Court for approval, previously discussed both options, but neither received enough votes to move forward. Briones and Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said their offices had abstained because they needed more information.
The committee approved the debit card option Wednesday and Commissioners Court will decide next week whether to approve “Uplift Harris 2.0.”
Nearly 60 cities and counties across the country, including Austin and San Antonio, have launched similar guaranteed income programs. Neither of those two Texas cities — nor any others across the United States — have faced litigation.
RELATED: Other cities and counties have tried guaranteed income programs. Ken Paxton didn’t sue them.
The federal government requires ARPA funding be allocated by the end of 2024, meaning Harris County officials are under pressure to revamp Uplift Harris if they want to go forward with such a program.
Under the previously approved program, which was set to begin sending out stipends in April before Paxton sued to block it, applicants had to reside in 10 of the county’s poorest ZIP codes and have an income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Hidalgo said she thinks adding spending restrictions would “squash” any legal argument against the initiative.
“We do know, however, that there is nothing stopping the state from suing us again,” Hidalgo said.
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