By John Lomax V.
The Texas Senate passed a bill Thursday prohibiting local governments from providing direct financial assistance to their residents.
It’s the latest blow to Uplift Harris, the county’s guaranteed income program that would have provided $500 per month to a random cohort of qualified residents. Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt, one of Uplift Harris’ most vocal critics and the author of Senate Bill 2010, labeled the program “lottery socialism” in a Thursday news release.
“Public funds should advance public interests, not be handed out as blank checks in politically motivated pilot projects,” Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, said. “This bill defends taxpayers and reinforces our Constitution’s limits on government giveaways.”
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis championed the program, which was created in 2023. Uplift Harris was intended to provide direct financial assistance to up to 1,500 families living at 200% below the poverty line, according to an overview document published by Precinct 1.
Hidalgo’s office did not respond to the Houston Chronicle’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Precinct 1 said Ellis’ office is working on a public statement, but did not submit one by deadline.
Ellis previously said in a June 2023 news release that Uplift Harris was intended to address “unchecked and ongoing inequality.”
“Similar programs in other cities and counties have been shown to increase employment and the incentive to work while reducing poverty,” Ellis said. “But the benefits go even further. Families report improvements to their physical and mental health and are able to spend more time with their children. They also have a greater sense of self-determination when they are trusted with the resources they need to build a better life.”
But the program faced opposition from conservative lawmakers who said it violated a clause in the Texas Constitution prohibiting the use of public funds to provide gifts. Following criticism from Bettencourt, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the county in early 2024.
The lawsuit culminated in an order from the Texas Supreme Court that temporarily halted payments under Uplift Harris one day before they were scheduled to begin disbursing.
“This is quite unlike a food-stamp program, a housing voucher or a medical-care program, in which the public funds can only be directed
to their intended purpose,” wrote Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock, who authored the court’s opinion on Uplift Harris. “It appears that, for all practical purposes, there truly are ‘no strings attached,’ and we are directed to no precedent indicating that a government in Texas may make such payments without running afoul of our Constitution’s restrictions.”
Following the Texas Supreme Court’s decision, county leaders launched a second, modified, version of Uplift Harris dubbed the “Community Prosperity Program.” Paxton filed a second lawsuit, and the case was sent to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals following a district judge’s ruling in favor of Harris County. The appeals court again ordered a temporary halt to the program in December.
Around $20.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, a federal stimulus package passed during the COVID-19 pandemic, were allocated to fund Uplift Harris. Bettencourt’s bill specifically bans using any government money, including federal dollars, to fund guaranteed income programs. It also prohibits officials from providing direct financial assistance to residents in the form of gift cards or indirect money transfers.
A companion bill introduced by state Rep. Ellen Troxclair, House Bill 530, is currently under consideration by the Texas House of Representatives. The legislation will need to pass both houses before it is sent to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to be signed into law.
