Bill introduced in Florida to ban CBDC
Bill introduced in Florida to ban CBDC
Florida House Bill 7049, which would ban use of central bank digital currencies in the state, has already passed the Commerce Committee and is now in the Judiciary Committee
Earlier this week, I reported on Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent press conference calling on legislators to ban central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in the state.
As I noted, DeSantis said all the right things and had the right messaging, but the bill had yet to be introduced.
Well, the bill, House Bill 7049, has now been introduced by State Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-FL12). And it appears to live up to expectations.
The bill, if approved, will prohibit use of CBDCs from the Federal Reserve as well as from foreign central banks under Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
The Uniform Law Commission describes the UCC:
“The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a comprehensive set of laws governing all commercial transactions in the United States. It is not a federal law, but a uniformly adopted state law. Uniformity of law is essential in this area for the interstate transaction of business. Because the UCC has been universally adopted, businesses can enter into contracts with confidence that the terms will be enforced in the same way by the courts of every American jurisdiction. The resulting certainty of business relationships allows businesses to grow and the American economy to thrive. For this reason, the UCC has been called ‘the backbone of American commerce.’”
HB7049 states that CBDC “means a digital currency, a digital medium of exchange, or a digital monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system, that is made directly available to a consumer by such entities. The term includes a digital currency, a digital medium of exchange, or a digital monetary unit of account issued by the United States Federal Reserve System, a federal agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system, that is processed or validated directly by such entities.”
The bill then explicitly excludes CBDCs from the definition of money stating that the “term does not include a central bank digital currency.”
A summary from a Florida House of Representatives staff analysis states:
“Digital currency is a virtual representation of a value that is not available in physical form but which can be used as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, or a store of value. Digital currency is stored and transacted in electronic form and does not have the status of U.S. currency in any U.S. jurisdiction. Digital currency includes a subset of currencies referred to as cryptocurrencies (i.e., Bitcoin) which are protected by cryptography.”
“Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is a digital currency authorized by a sovereign central bank or government as a digital representation of a certain denomination of currency. In the U.S. today, standard U.S. currency is the only type of central bank money available for use by the general public.”
“Proponents of CBDC claim it would accomplish goals of financial inclusion and promoting the U.S. currency’s international role as a reserve currency and a medium of exchange for international trade. However, the issuance of a CBDC would rewire the fundamental infrastructure of America’s banking and financial system by changing the relationship between citizens and money.”
“While the Federal Reserve has made no decisions on whether to pursue or implement a CBDC, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) and American Law Institute (ALI) have drafted model amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code to address emerging technologies and provide updated rules for commercial transactions involving virtual currencies, distributed ledger technologies (including blockchain), and other technological developments. These suggested model amendments have not been adopted by Florida.”
“The bill amends Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), codified at ch. 670-680, F.S., to expressly prohibit the use of a CBDC in Florida.”
“The bill has no impact on state or local revenues and expenditures and an indeterminate impact on the private sector.”
“The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.”
Florida’s Commerce Committee has already voted 15-5 to officially introduce HB7049, and the bill is now in the Judiciary Committee, according to a bill detail page.
As I wrote earlier this week, it was good to not only see the issue of CBDCs being addressed at the state level, where something can get done, but also that the messaging is spot on. Now, it’s nice to see the bill has been introduced, and it appears to do what DeSantis promised in his press conference.
Great, but now is the time for Florida citizens who desire liberty to hold them accountable by demanding they follow through with this and making sure the bill does not get perverted through the process. Similarly, citizens in all 50 states who desire liberty should demand their state government do the same.
And, after getting CBDCs banned, maybe it’s time to demand all 50 states go even further and demand a return to Constitutional money by defining money as only gold and silver coin under their UCC.
Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution states:
“No State shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”