The Texas Senate has passed Senate Bill 2010, a proposed law aimed at prohibiting local governments from implementing guaranteed income programs.
This legislative move comes in the wake of ongoing legal challenges faced by Harris County’s Uplift Harris program, which is currently being contested by state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
State Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) introduced the bill during its second reading, emphasizing that it aligns with a provision in the Texas Constitution that forbids the allocation of public funds as grants to private entities, including individuals and corporations.
“Senate Bill 2010 will ensure the state, cities, and counties comply with the state’s constitutional gift prohibitions by prohibiting a political subdivision from adopting or enforcing an order or regulation or any other measure that provides the operation of a guaranteed income program,” Bettencourt stated.
The move to pass this bill coincides with efforts from Democratic leaders in Harris County, who are defending their own guaranteed income pilot program against Paxton’s legal objections.
The Uplift Harris initiative aims to provide nearly 2,000 low-income families with $500 monthly subsidies.
This program initially sought funding of $20.5 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, targeting families living under 200% of the federal poverty line in selected zip codes.
After an earlier court challenge resulted in the Texas Supreme Court ruling the initial program unconstitutional, officials revised the program in hopes of compliance.
However, in August 2024, Paxton filed another lawsuit challenging the revised version, which led to a state appeals court halting payments under the program until the legal battle is resolved.
State Senator Molly Cook (D-Houston) expressed her opposition to the bill during its final reading, arguing that it removes a valuable option effective in cities like Austin and San Antonio.
“Guaranteed income programs work,” Cook stated, citing the largest study of such programs in the U.S. which involved 5,000 participants across Texas and Illinois.
Her remarks emphasized that these initiatives do not discourage work; rather, many participants adjusted their work hours to pursue better job opportunities, education, or family care.
Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, a key advocate for the Uplift Harris program, slammed the legislation as hypocritical.
“For folks in the Legislature to spend an inordinate amount of time and money to give vouchers to people who could afford to pay for their kids to go to private schools if they want them to go, and then to come back in the next week, and you want to shut down this guaranteed income program, it’s the height of hypocrisy,” he remarked.
In his concluding remarks on the bill, Bettencourt expressed concerns over the perceived fairness of providing guaranteed incomes to select families while excluding others.
He referenced the significant number of applicants and the financial burden on taxpayers that the program would represent.
Bettencourt stated, “On behalf of the 82,000 residents that applied for this (Universal Basic Income) program and the 6,000 that were screened for it and the only 1,900-plus that were actually going to get it and all the taxpayers of Harris County that were going to pay $20 million for that program, I move final passage.”
The Senate ultimately passed the bill with a near-party-line vote of 22-9, with only State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) joining the Republicans in support.
Senate Bill 2010 will now advance to the Texas House for further consideration.
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