Texas bill filed for potential $1,500 payments

All right, you guys, we've got some more news coming your way here from all across Texas. And as you know, Democrats want control of the governor's mansion, as well as the House on the state level. Republicans will maintain control in the Senate. That changes in January. We already know, though, there are more than 1,200 bills being introduced. And one of them would like to send qualifying households a $1,500 check. That's a lot of money. It gets your attention, right? But it's only a bill. It's got to go through a lot of hurdles before that even becomes possible. So, Leslie Delos-Boer joining us now to tell us about, you know... Who would qualify here, and then how is this even going to happen? Exactly, and it's very, very simple to understand, so let's get into it. So the first thing that we want you to know is that it's $1,500 per household, not per person. So if you live alone, you can qualify, but if you live in a house with a lot of people, the household would just get one payment. So here's what else is in the proposal. So State Senator Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio is proposing Senate Bill 297. So obviously, it's pointing to the rising cost of things like food, housing, electricity, and insurance. And it's really the reason, I mean, as we see it now that families need some relief. So the plan is going to set aside $17 billion from the state's rainy day fund. To pay checks and for to run the program now to qualify your household is going to be need to live need to be living in Texas on January 1 2027 and the person getting the check on behalf of the household or as we say head of household needs to be 18 by January 1 2027 but here's the big catch and this is the thing that stood out to me there's not going to be an income limit so also you would not have to own a home have a job. Or have filed a tax return, and if you get public benefits, that's not going to automatically disqualify you. And another thing that's really important too is that it's not going to be a loan that you have to pay back unless there's fraud or a duplicate payment. And then, so that's the outline of it, but then is there an application process? How do you figure out if you're going to get that money? It is, but the state is going to use, obviously, its records, right, to qualify or to let people know or identify what houses actually qualify for this. But it's going to require the application process with options to apply by mail or in person. But don't assume that a check is automatically just going to show up, right? The state's going to still need to work out those details. But the bill would allow applications through the end of 2028. Now, to prove where you live, you can use something like a lease, utility bill. Or even school record, but the state would also have to create rules for people experiencing homelessness or those living without a traditional address as well. And then okay, so perfect world, right? Perfect world, this all goes according to plan, and it passes and everyone fill out the application. When is the next question? When can people receive this? I think that's probably what everybody homeless- Yeah, like- Okay, girl, when is the money coming? When is the money coming? What did you say now? Right, right, right. So possibly by the end of 2027. So to be clear, the checks are not No, they're not on the way yet. Again, as you mentioned, it's still has to go through some hurdles, right? So lawmakers are still going to have to approve the plan, it's funding, then it'll become law and the goal is to get payments verified to the households by the end of next year. Okay, so let's give you a quick recap, okay? Right now we have a bill, right? Session starts in January. If it then passes and everything goes according to plan, it's going to come out of the rainy day fund. The rainy day fund has- $17 billion. $17 billion is how much it's going to cost, but that rainy day That has 27 billion, so there'll be still $10 billion left in that fund. Gina Hinojosa, the incoming governor, has supported this plan from the representative, the senator from San Antonio. It's got a lot of people's attention, but then we'll have to see if, in fact, it clears all the hurdles. And you and I were talking about this. It sounds a lot like what people said back during COVID, the stimmies. Right, the stimulus check. But it's a little different than that. So we kind of just went over that, but it's a little bit different, just to kind of clarify and point that out for people. All right, and also, let's go to Facebook. I think we posted this story earlier today, and you guys were eating it up in the comments. So let me see what you're saying. Juan says, starting to look like California already. All right, Tiffany says, I believe it when I see it, they will not pass it. And even if they do, we will pay for it in the end. All right, Michelle says, I'll deposit it along with my Doge refund check. Now, I see what you did there, Michelle. Doge was supposed to send out a check that was never sent. The president even offered $5,000 if Republicans maintain control of the election. So we've heard some politicians have discussions like this, like sending folks back these rebates. But outside of that stimulus check is not something we continue to see. But hey, we'll see what happens there at the state legislature. Cesar says after that, they will raise taxes to get it back. Okay, this is our last one. This one's coming here from Ralph. Ralph says, I would like to see it go towards education or child daycare. Two things that cost a lot of money. And here we go. We got one or two more here from the text message. One viewer says, they'll promise anything to get elected. Do you have to be a citizen of the U.S.? Was that, oh, do you have to be a citizen? I would imagine so. So you have to live in Texas and you have to be a resident of Texas. By January 1st of 2027. Okay, so we'll iron out some of that too. Somebody says take the 1500 and fix the Houston roads. Now listen, if you wanna give the city a 1500, do your thing. Again, it's coming to the households, however you wish to spend your money. Hey, Mayor Whitmer, you're not gonna say no, I would imagine. All right, Leslie, thank you so much. And thank you guys for sending in those messages as well. It's fun to talk about something like that when maybe you can have the government send you back some money, okay?