(The Center Square) – The City of St. Louis’ guaranteed basic income payments were suspended for two weeks in response to an injunction request in a lawsuit challenging the program.
With $220,000 ready to be deposited into two banks and distributed by adding funds to debit cards, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Joseph Whyte granted a 15-day injunction to stop the process. The order also halts all payments to private individuals in the program. The order also requires the city to reclaim any amounts not already expended to be returned to the city.
Approximately 500 households were scheduled to receive their $500 monthly payment on July 21. Dozens of cities throughout the country are engaged in similar universal basic income programs.
The request was made in a lawsuit filed by Fred Hale, the former chairman of the Republican Party in the city, and Greg Tumlin, a counselor. The plaintiffs, represented by the Holy Joe Society, are arguing guaranteed basic income violates the Missouri Constitution and the city charter.
“Another good day for the taxpayers,” W. Bevis Schock, an attorney who works with the Holy Joe Society, wrote in an email to The Center Square. “We uphold constitutional norms or the city will fail.”
Schock and attorney Mark Milton’s litigation was successful in forcing the city to refund earnings taxes paid by remote workers during the pandemic.
Aldermen approved the program by a vote of 21-1 and Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones signed into law the guaranteed income program last December. Payments of $500 would be made for 18 months from the $52 million in federal pandemic American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated to the city.
In his eight-page order, Judge Whyte wrote arguments in the case address the lawsuit’s “probability of success on the merits at this time.” Whyte also found there would be “immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage” without the injunction.
“These payments, once made, would be nearly impossible to recover,” Whyte wrote.
Whyte also wrote the city failed to prove any harm if the program was paused.
“There was no evidence presented at the hearings regarding damages to respondents or to the public other than speculation,” Whyte wrote. “In addition, the court finds that there is a strong public interest in temporarily halting the distribution of funds until this court can determine whether ordinance No. 71591 violates the Missouri Constitution or the St. Louis City Charter.”
City residents who are parents or legal guardians of youth under 18 and had a negative financial impact due to the pandemic were eligible for the funds. Dependents must be enrolled in the St. Louis Public Schools. Household income can’t exceed 170% of the federal poverty level, or approximately $53,000, for a family of four, to be eligible.
"The City of St. Louis will follow the judge's order," Jones said in a statement. "We are exploring our legal options, and my administration continues to find every avenue possible to support the families of St. Louis City."
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