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☆ Texas AG sues county over Houston-area guaranteed income program giving participants $500 a month no strings attached
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe Texas Attorney General's office sued Harris County, which contains Houston, over its new guaranteed income pilot that would give nearly 2,000 residents $500 a month for 18 months with no strings attached. The state is seeking to block Harris County from giving its first payments to participants, which are slated to start in April. In response, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said that the lawsuit is "nothing more than another attack" on the county government. The Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot has distributed $1,000 a month to 135 low-income families, who reported using their money for housing, food, and other daily costs. Republican lawmakers are trying to ban guaranteed income programs in states such as Arizona, Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Persons: —, Ken Paxton, Harris, Harris County Attorney Christian D, Menefee, Dustin Palmer, Paxton, Sen, Paul Bettencourt Organizations: Service, Texas, Business, American, Harris County Attorney, Republican, Austin Locations: Harris, Houston, Texas, Harris County, Austin, Arizona , Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin

☆ Over 82,000 Houston-area residents applied to a Texas guaranteed income program giving $500 a month. Fewer than 2,000 made it in.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Just over 2% of applicants to a Houston-area guaranteed income program were accepted — a lower acceptance rate than Harvard or Yale. Starting this month, 1,928 families will receive $500 a month, no strings attached, through Uplift Harris, a guaranteed income program in the Texas county that includes Houston. A majority of participants selected live in high-poverty ZIP codes and have a household income below 200% of the federal poverty line. Some participants were selected through the county's Accessing Coordinated Care and Empowering Self Sufficiency program which helps vulnerable residents improve outcomes. The pilot has been met with opposition from politicians including Texas State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who in January sent a letter to the state attorney general concerning whether counties can legally enact guaranteed income programs.

Persons: Dustin Palmer, AidKit, Palmer, GiveDirectly, We've, Texas State Sen, Paul Bettencourt, Bettencourt, I've, it's Organizations: Service, Harvard, Yale, Business, American, SNAP, Texas State, Houston Public Media, Austin Locations: Houston, Uplift Harris, Texas, Harris, Harris County, West Harris County

☆ San Antonio experimented with giving people $5,108 no-strings-attached. They spent it on housing and school supplies for their kids.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Allie Kelly | Noah Sheidlower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Read previewWhen Monique Gonzalez received her money from the San Antonio guaranteed basic income pilot, she bought school supplies, shoes, and Christmas gifts for her children. San Antonio is one of several cities nationwide piloting guaranteed basic income programs. Ingrid Sullivan, a participant with four children and three grandchildren, told UpTogether that basic income allowed her to secure housing and reliable transportation. San Antonio participants also told UpTogether that the GBI payments significantly improved their mental health. Have you benefited from a guaranteed basic income program in San Antonio or elsewhere?

Persons: —, Monique Gonzalez, Gonzalez, UpTogether —, UpTogether, Ingrid Sullivan, Sullivan, GBI, Austin, Stephanie Hendon, she's, Jessica Nairns, Texas State Sen, Paul Bettencourt, John Gillette Organizations: Service, San Antonio, Business, Houston, Austin, Urban Institute, Texas State, Republican, House, Republicans Locations: San Antonio, Denver, Austin, Boston, Minneapolis, Durham, City, Antonio, Texas, Harris, City of Austin, Washington ,, Harris County, Dakota, Iowa, In Arizona, Arizona, Flint , Michigan

☆ Why Republicans are fighting the basic-income programs many cities and states are adopting: 'Is money a birthright now?'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | Allie Kelly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewAs guaranteed basic-income programs get more popular, opposition is also on the rise. Several lawmakers, like Arizona's Gillette, believe that income programs would discourage work and could raise taxes. A recently introduced bill in South Dakota would ban basic-income programs at the state level and prevent municipal governments from creating local programs. AdvertisementDespite opposition, basic-income program participants have seen benefitsPilot income programs have remained divisive with policymakers, but several major cities have seen positive results. In 2020, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pledged $15 million to Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, which helped 25 cities and towns nationwide begin basic-income programs.

Persons: —, Dia Broncucia, Justin Searls, John Gillette, Gillette, Arizona's Gillette, Lupe Diaz, Steve Holt, Skyler Wheeler, Sen, John Wiik, Paul Bettencourt, Bettencourt, Harris, I've, Ivanna Neri, Neri, UpTogether, Tony Evers, Austin, Stephanie Hendon, Louis, Jack Dorsey, Mark, Anthony Middleton Organizations: Service, Business, Income, Austin, BI, Republican, Republicans, GOP, Social Security, Iowa GOP, Houston Public Media, Gov, Madison Forward Fund, Madison Locations: Denver, Arizona, Arizona , Iowa, South Dakota , Texas, Wisconsin, Phoenix, Iowa, South Dakota, Texas, Houston, UpTogether, Harris, Madison, Minneapolis , Northern Virginia, Boston, St, Oregon, Durham

☆ Oregon is giving homeless young people $1,000 a month to get back on their feet. Here's how it's going.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As state leaders scramble to address the problem, one solution is showing some promise: Give those young people $1,000 cash every month, no strings attached. AdvertisementSo far 120 young people across the state are receiving the direct cash payments, the report says. Participants receive payments of $ 1,000 a month. AdvertisementThe Baltimore Young Families Success Fund , for example, gives young parents in the city $1,000 a month. In Denver, the city recently extended a basic income program offering some residents up to $1,000 a month after participants reported increased housing security .

Persons: —, Anjala Huff, Huff, Tonaeya Moore, Austin, Sen, Paul Bettencourt Organizations: Service, Business, The Oregon Department of Human Services, DHS, Baltimore Young Locations: Oregon, Multnomah County, Portland, Maryland, Denver, Iowa , South Dakota , Arizona, Texas, Harris County, Houston

☆ Texas state lawmaker criticizes 'universal basic income' programs: 'We can't just hand out money like popcorn on street corners'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Texas state senator said a Texas-based basic income plan will "hand out money like popcorn." State Sen. Paul Bettencourt asked the state attorney general to declare it unconstitutional. Bettencourt's request came on the same day that the program — called Uplift Harris — started taking applications. The Uplift Harris program plans to provide eligible households in Harris County, which includes Houston, $500 a month for up to 18 months. "We just can't hand out money like popcorn on street corners to people that walk by," Bettencourt told Fox.

Persons: Sen, Paul Bettencourt, —, State Sen, Harris —, Bettencourt, Fox, Harris, Menefree, Bettencourt's Organizations: Service, Republican, American, Plan, Houston Chronicle, Fox News, Texas, Houston Public Media Locations: Texas, Houston, State, Harris County, Harris

☆ Austin experimented with giving people $1,000 a month. They spent the no-strings-attached cash mostly on housing, a study found.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A guaranteed basic income program in Austin gave people $1,000 a month for a year. AdvertisementA guaranteed basic income plan in one of Texas's largest cities reduced rates of housing insecurity. Austin was the first city in Texas to launch a tax-payer-funded basic income program when the Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot kicked off in May 2022. On average, program participants spent more than half of the cash they received on housing, the report's authors wrote. Harris County, which includes Houston, earlier this month launched a guaranteed basic income program that gives low-income residents up to $500 a month.

Persons: —, Austin, Taniquewa Brewster, KXAN, it's, Sen, Paul Bettencourt, Bettencourt, Tonaeya Moore Organizations: Service, Austin, Urban Institute, Washington DC, NBC, Houston Chronicle, Baltimore Young Locations: Austin, Texas, City, Washington, Houston, Harris County, United States, Baltimore

☆ Austin experimented with giving people $1,000 a month. They said they spent the no-strings-attached cash mostly on housing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewPeople who received guaranteed basic income in one of Texas' largest cities reported reduced rates of housing insecurity. Austin was the first city in Texas to launch a taxpayer-funded guaranteed-income program when the Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot kicked off in May 2022. On average, program participants said they spent more than half of the cash they received on housing. While Austin was the first city in Texas to test a guaranteed-income program, it's now not the only one. AdvertisementAnd in Denver, a basic-income program that gives some people up to $1,000 a month was recently extended after participants reported increased housing security .

Persons: —, Austin, Taniquewa Brewster, KXAN, it's, Sen, Paul Bettencourt, Bettencourt, Tonaeya Moore Organizations: Service, Business, Austin, Urban Institute, NBC, Houston Chronicle, Baltimore Young Locations: Texas, City of Austin, Washington, DC, Houston, Harris County, United States, Baltimore, Maryland, Denver

☆ Texas senator says the plan to give poor residents a $500 guaranteed basic income is unconstitutional
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Guaranteed basic income is similar to universal basic income except it targets a particular group. Similar programs to the one in Harris County are being adopted in cities all over the country. The Uplift Harris program plans to provide eligible households in Harris County, which includes Houston, $500 a month for up to 18 months. "They are not a Home Rule city," Bettencourt told Houston Public Media. Uplift Harris provides guaranteed basic income to households in the zip codes with the highest poverty rates in Harris County, according to the program's website.

Persons: —, Sen, Paul Bettencourt, Harris —, Bettencourt, I've, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, Menefee Organizations: Service, Business, American, Plan, Houston Chronicle, Houston Public Media, Harris, Harris County Attorney Locations: Texas, Houston, Harris County

☆ With New Voting Bills, Texas Legislature Targets Elections in Democratic Stronghold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Why It Matters: Harris County could tilt the power balance in Texas. Harris County, the state’s most populous county, has become a reliable Democratic stronghold. Senate Bill 1750 eliminates the appointed position of elections administrator, which has been in place in Harris County only since late 2020. Yet another bill, House Bill 1243, increases the penalty for illegal voting from a misdemeanor to a felony. The bills invite new scrutiny of elections, especially in Harris County, where officials would be expected to revamp their system just months before important elections.

The proposals have alarmed voting rights activists and state Democrats, who tried and failed last year to block a GOP-backed overhaul of election laws — a priority of Gov. The 62 voting rights-related bills Texas lawmakers have already prefiled represent nearly all prefiled voting rights legislation across the country, according to a review of prefiled bills by Voting Rights Lab and NBC News. An election police forceRepublican-authored Texas bills, such as HB 549 and SB 220, propose creating a system of state “election marshals,” who would investigate allegations of violations of election and voting laws, and file criminal charges when warranted. Harsher penaltiesLegislation such as HB 39, HB 52, HB 222, HB 397 and SB 166 aims to raise the penalty for election and voting rights crimes to a felony from a misdemeanor. “All my bill does is restore the felony punishment for illegal voting,” Texas Rep. David Spiller, the author of HB 52, said in an interview.

The investigation Abbott wants would be on top of an ongoing audit of the county’s election system, begun before Election Day. Texas Democratic Party leaders and the Harris County Democratic Party chair issued criticized Ogg’s planned investigation, calling on her to “stop enabling Texas Republicans' insidious efforts to silence Black and Brown Houstonians. “In 2021, Texas Republicans moved mountains to make it harder for Black and Brown residents of Harris County to vote. It has not gone unnoticed that Democrat-voting Harris County is the target of the state's urgent response. The law Abbott signed last year banned those Harris County initiatives.

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