By Hunter Bassler
A nonprofit has filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis over its Guaranteed Basic Income program, alleging the program is unconstitutional.
The Holy Joe Society nonprofit, named after former St. Louis Circuit Attorney and Missouri Gov. Joseph “Holy Joe” Wingate Folk, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday. The lawsuit hinges on a Missouri Constitution provision that says, “No county, city or other political corporation or subdivision of the state shall be authorized to lend its credit or grant public money or property to any private individual, association or corporation.”
The Guaranteed Basic Income, or GBI, program uses $52 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to support about 440 St. Louis families living in poverty with monthly payments of $500. Mayor Tishaura Jones signed the bill into law on Dec. 28, 2022.
The lawsuit also alleges that that program violates the city charter because it says only families with children enrolled in public schools are eligible for the program.
“To determine who gets the public money, the City Treasurer has held a lottery,” a news release from the Holy Joe Society said. “In order to be eligible for the lottery giveaway, a person must have been a city resident with a child enrolled in a public school, but not private or religious school.”
A judge has ordered St. Louis to respond to the lawsuit by June 28.
