Texas politics: Proposed bill would give a one-time $1,500 to Texas households

This week, Senate Bill 297, an emergency household economic relief bill, was filed in Texas.

During her campaign, Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa promised a one-time payment of $1,500 for Texas households, calling it a “corruption tax refund.”

It’ll cost more than $15 billion to accomplish, but it was part of Hinojosa's affordability campaign, and the money would come from Texas’ rainy-day funds.

The “emergency household relief payment is necessary to provide prompt assistance without delaying relief through individualized determinations of financial hardship,” according to the documents of the proposed bill.

In order to make it happen, it will take two-thirds of the members in the Senate and the House to accomplish.

Here are some of the requirements:

• Be a resident of Texas as of Jan. 1, 2027.
• Be represented by someone who is at least 18 years old.
• Meet verification requirements established under the proposed program.

Under SB-297, every household would qualify regardless of how many people live in it. The proposed payments would not be limited to low-income Texans.