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- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing to block a Harris County basic income program.
- The lawsuit follows a case in April that halted $500 monthly payments for low-income families.
- Paxton argues GBI is unconstitutional, but local leaders continue to advocate for cash aid.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is calling guaranteed basic income “unlawful.”
A lawsuit , filed by Paxton on September 19, is requesting a temporary block on a GBI program in Harris County. The pilot, called the Harris County Community Prosperity Program, plans to give $500 monthly cash payments to low-income Houston-area residents.
This new lawsuit comes after Paxton sued the county in April over another guaranteed basic income pilot called Uplift Harris. That pilot planned to give 1,928 low-income households $500 monthly for 18 months. The Texas Supreme Court halted Uplift Harris just days before payments were set to begin, upending people who were expecting the money.