Texas lawmaker challenges 'lottery socialism,' urges state AG to rule on the universal income program

 A Texas state lawmaker believes a universal basic income program implemented at the county level violates the state constitution.

"We can't be handing out money like popcorn to people walking on the street," Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt told Fox News Digital.

"If you explicitly advertise unconditional universal basic income, and you do a lottery by zip code, I'm very concerned that that's basically violating the gift clause of the [Texas] Constitution, which says That the state can't give money without any conditions."

The program Bettencourt is referring to is a guaranteed income program called Uplift Harris. The program passed the Harris County Commissioners Court last year in a 4-1 vote.

Bettencourt's comments came after he wrote a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton the same day the program was implemented in Harris County, requesting the Attorney General to issue an opinion on whether the counties' Has the authority to implement such a program.

"Would such a policy violate the gift prohibition clause in the Texas Constitution?" Bettencourt asked in the letter.

Article 3, Section 47 of the Texas Constitution prohibits lotteries and giveaway enterprises in the state with a few listed exceptions.

Uplift Harris is a guaranteed income pilot that will allow participating families to receive $500 per month for 18 months. The program started on January 12, 2024 and is available to 1,924 applicants.

A local FOX affiliate reported that the program received more than 59,000 applications.

Applicants to the Placeholder Uplift Harris program will be "randomly selected through a lottery process", their website states.

Bettencourt said Harris County is "taking 1,900 families and effectively giving them $20-plus million dollars."

Noting that more than 59,000 people had applied for the more than 1,900 available spots, Bettencourt asked, how does the government decide who wins and who loses?

"I don't like this concept of what I would call lottery socialism here because it's based on specific ZIP codes, and there are no strings attached," Bettencourt told Fox News Digital. “And that's why I'm concerned about the gift clause of the [Texas] Constitution.”

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Uplift Harris said on its website that similar programs across the country have shown that they are economically and socially beneficial for participants.

A guaranteed income program in Austin, Texas recently helped address housing insecurity in the city, according to a new survey.

The program, which was launched as a pilot, issued monthly checks of $1,000 to 85 families who were at risk of losing their homes. The state capital became the first major city in Texas to use tax dollars to fund "guaranteed income" programs, after the Austin City Council introduced the measure in 2022. The City of Austin states on its website that guaranteed income programs "serve as a springboard for participants to move out of poverty and find a path to greater economic mobility and housing stability."

Bettencourt said comparing Austin's guaranteed income program to the one enacted in Harris County is like "comparing apples to oranges."

"The thing I'm saying about counties engaging with universal basic income is that this hasn't happened before," Bettencourt said. "We don't have anyone else in the state doing that other than Harris. And counties are separate from home-rule cities. The state gives authority to [counties] as an extension of the state to do certain things."

Bettencourt expressed concern that the state's largest county is considering a guaranteed income program with no strings attached, and how more counties might consider starting a similar program. They were also concerned about the financial cost if the program was expanded to all 60,000 applicants.

"It's a $600 million expenditure and it has to be done with county property tax money. So these are important issues that we have to decide before we can discuss what people think is the solution to a problem, but ignore that." Without considering whether the solution is legal in the first place,” he said. "Unfortunately, the county judge here was talking about expanding the program to cover people crossing the border illegally. Now, there's not enough money in anyone's government budget for all this."

Uplift Harris excluded undocumented immigrants because the program is federally funded using COVID-19 funds. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo reportedly wants an "alternative cash assistance program" to cover those who are ineligible for Uplift Harris.

"I know a politically hot topic these days is stigmatizing immigrants," Hidalgo said. "But these immigrants, if they're living in poverty, they're living in poverty... and supporting them helps all of us and has a good impact on all of us, so I don't think we should They should leave."

Bettencourt told Fox News Digital that, at this time, Paxton is gathering an opinion on the matter. If the Attorney General agrees with Bettencourt's position, the county would either have to shut down the program or argue its merits in court.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Menefee responded to Bettencourt's letter on Wednesday, arguing that Uplift Harris does not violate the gifts clause in the Texas Constitution because existing state statutes enable counties to issue cash grants that are "designed to benefit the entire county." serves the "public purpose" sought.