SB 1813

Effective January 1, 2027, this bill provides that (i) coin or bullion having intrinsic value and used or intended for use as money, including transactional gold and silver ("specie""), is recognized as legal tender in this state and (ii) specie may be us ed for the payment of debts between private parties, if mutually agreed upon, and taxes, fees, or other obligations owed to the state or a political subdivision, if the state or political subdivision agrees to accept specie as payment. However, this bill prohibits a person or entity from being compelled to accept specie as payment, except as provided in (ii) above, by mutual agreement, or where payments are made by an electronic payment system participant in specie and the other party receives U.S. dollars utilizing traditional payment mechanisms. BULLION DEPOSITORY AND ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM This bill requires the treasurer to (i) designate or establish a bullion depository for secure storage of specie to facilitate transactions and (ii) authorize an electronic payment system to enable vendors to receive and process payments using specie. T he treasurer may (i) operate the bullion depository directly or contract with a depository agent and (ii) contract with one or more private entities to develop or operate the electronic payment system. The treasurer must ensure all of the following:  The bullion depository is secure, transparent, and accessible for use by any person.  The electronic payment system is reliable and compliant with state and federal law.  A depository agent or contracted entity operates in the best interests of the state and its depositors.  Deposits in the bullion depository for the purpose of electronic exchange are to be insured for 100% of the full replacement value under an all-risk insurance policy issued by a non-governmental operated insurer.  The sufficiency of specie held by the bullion depository is regularly verified.  Electronic system vendors are authorized to do business within this state and compliant with federal and state money transmitter laws.  Appropriate fraud prevention measures are established.  The privacy of system participants in such a manner that transaction information will not be shared without proper court authorization, and that information must not be used in a social credit scoring system.  Participants' deposits are the sole property of the owner and are not subject to seizure by the state without prior written notice and an opportunity to contest the seizure. TAX EXEMPTIONS This bill provides that the exchange of one type or form of legal tender for another type or form of legal tender is not subject to taxation by the state or a political subdivision. REPORT This bill requires the treasurer to submit an annual report on or before February 1, 2028, and on or before February 1 of each subsequent year, to the general assembly detailing the status and operations of the bullion depository, the implementation and usage of the electronic payment system, and the economic impact of recognizing gold and silver coin as legal tender. RULEMAKING This bill authorizes the treasurer to promulgate rules to effectuate this bill."