Bill Text: MI HB6147 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Businesses: other; regulations regarding cryptocurrency and digital asset mining; provide for. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-11-26 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 11/26/2024 [HB6147 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-HB6147-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 6147
A bill to regulate the use of digital assets; to prohibit certain digital asset taxes; to protect the right to home digital asset mining; to regulate a digital asset mining business; to protect the right to operate a node; to prohibit certain uses and acceptances of central bank digital currency as legal payment; and to provide remedies.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "digital asset act".
(a) "Blockchain" means data that is shared across a network to create a ledger of verified transactions or information among network participants linked using cryptography to maintain the integrity of the ledger and to execute other functions and distributed among network participants in an automated fashion to concurrently update network participants on the state of the ledger and any other functions.
(b) "Blockchain protocol" means any executable software deployed to a blockchain composed of a source code that is publicly available and accessible, including a smart contract or any network of smart contracts.
(c) "Central bank digital currency" 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, state agency, a foreign government, a foreign central bank, or a foreign reserve system, that is made directly available to a consumer and processed and validated by those entities.
(d) "Data center" means a building or premises in which the majority of the use of the building or premises is occupied by computers, telecommunications, or related equipment including, but not limited to, supporting equipment, where digital information is processed, transferred, and stored.
(e) "Digital asset" means virtual currency, cryptocurrency, natively electronic assets, including stablecoins and non-fungible tokens, and other digital-only assets that confer economic, proprietary, or access rights or powers.
(f) "Digital asset mining" means using electricity to power a computer or node for the purpose of securing a blockchain.
(g) "Digital asset mining business" means a group of computers working together that consume more than 1 megawatt of energy for the purpose of securing a blockchain protocol.
(h) "Digital interface" means the medium through which an individual or a technology interact with a device, software, or application.
(i) "Hardware storage wallet" means a physical device that is not continuously connected to the internet, allows an individual to secure and transfer digital assets, and under which the owner of the digital assets retains independent control over the digital assets.
(j) "Home digital asset mining" means using digital asset mining in an area zoned for residential use.
(k) "Node" means a computational device which contains and updates a copy of a blockchain.
(l) "Person" means an individual or a partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, or other legal entity.
(m) "Self-hosted wallet" means a digital interface used to secure and transfer digital assets and under which the owner of the digital asset retains independent control over the digital assets that are secured by the digital interface.
(n) "Third-party wallet" means a digital interface used to secure and transfer digital assets and under which a third party maintains and secures control over an individual's digital assets that are secured by the digital interface.
Sec. 5. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity shall not prohibit, restrict, require a license or permit, or otherwise impair a person from using digital assets to purchase legal goods or services.
(2) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity shall not prohibit, restrict, require a license or permit, or otherwise impair a person from using any of the following to maintain custody of digital assets:
(a) A self-hosted wallet.
(b) A third-party wallet.
(c) Hardware storage wallet.
Sec. 7. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity shall not interfere with a person that engages in home digital asset mining if the person complies with all local ordinances while engaging in home digital asset mining including, but not limited to, local noise ordinances.
(2) A local unit of government shall not set a specific limit on decibels generated from a person engaging in home digital asset mining other than any applicable general limits set for sound pollution.
Sec. 9. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity shall not interfere with a digital asset mining business that engages in digital asset mining if the digital asset mining business is engaging in digital asset mining in an area that is zoned for industrial use.
(2) A local unit of government shall not set a specific limit on decibels generated from a digital mining business other than any applicable general limits set for sound pollution that apply to industrial zoned areas.
(3) A local unit of government shall not impose any restriction, requirement, or imposition on a digital asset mining business that is not a restriction, requirement, or imposition for a data center located in the same zoning district.
Sec. 11. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity shall not interfere with a person that operates a node to connect to a blockchain protocol or a protocol built on top of a blockchain protocol and transfers digital assets on a blockchain protocol.
(2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person engaged in digital asset mining, operating a node or series of nodes on a blockchain protocol, or providing digital asset mining as a service for individuals or other businesses is not liable for a specific transaction if the person only validates that specific transaction.
Sec. 12. (1) A governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity shall not do either of the following:
(a) Accept central bank digital currency as legal payment in this state.
(b) Require central bank digital currency as legal payment for any service, tax, license, permit, fee, information, or other amount due to the governmental body.
(2) An administrative branch of a governmental entity shall not advocate for or support the testing, adoption, or implementation of a central bank digital currency by the United States government.
Sec. 13. A person that suffers a loss as a result of a violation of this act may bring a civil action against the person or the governmental entity or political subdivision of a governmental entity that committed the violation to recover treble damages.
