Bill Text: TX HB23 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 4th Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the establishment of a currency based on gold and silver; authorizing a fee.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-11-07 - Filed [HB23 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB23-Introduced.html
| By: Dorazio | H.B. No. 23 | |
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| relating to the establishment of a currency based on gold and | ||
| silver; authorizing a fee. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 4, Government Code, is amended | ||
| by adding Chapter 404A to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 404A. GOLD AND SILVER CURRENCY | ||
| SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS | ||
| Sec. 404A.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Bullion" means precious metals as defined within | ||
| the Government Code Chapter 2116 limited to gold and silver only. | ||
| (2) "Currency" means the representation of actual gold | ||
| and silver, specie and bullion held in a Depository account by a | ||
| Depository account holder as defined within the Government Code | ||
| Chapter 2116. Such representation shall reflect the exact unit(s) | ||
| of physical specie or gold and silver bullion in the pooled | ||
| depository account in its fractional troy ounce measurement as | ||
| provided by this chapter. | ||
| (3) "Precious metal" means precious metal as defined | ||
| within the Government Code Chapter 2116 limited to gold and silver. | ||
| (4) "Pooled depository account" means the account in | ||
| the Texas Bullion Depository established under Section 404A.0052. | ||
| (5) "Specie" means a precious metal stamped into coins | ||
| as defined within the Government Code Chapter 2116. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0002. RULES. The comptroller may adopt rules as | ||
| necessary or convenient to implement this chapter, including rules | ||
| to: | ||
| (1) ensure the security of the specie, bullion, | ||
| currency, transactions and related data; and | ||
| (2) prevent fraud; and | ||
| (3) prohibit transactions involving foreign nations | ||
| or enemies of this State. | ||
| SUBCHAPTER B. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENCY | ||
| Sec. 404A.0051. ESTABLISHMENT. (a) As authorized by the | ||
| U.S. Const. Art. I, § 10, the comptroller shall issue specie and | ||
| establish a currency as determined practicable. | ||
| (b) The comptroller may preferentially contract with a | ||
| private vendor having its principal place of business and its | ||
| center of operations in Texas to establish the currency or perform | ||
| other duties under this chapter. Such contract may additionally | ||
| provide for the initial start up expense of this Chapter. | ||
| (c) In establishing the currency the comptroller shall | ||
| establish a means to ensure that a person or State who holds the | ||
| currency may use such as legal tender in payment of debt, readily | ||
| transfer or assign such currency to any other person or State by | ||
| electronic means. | ||
| (d) In establishing specie, the comptroller shall | ||
| exclusively authorize the Texas Bullion Depository as the State's | ||
| issuer and ensure that the holder of such specie may use such as | ||
| legal tender in payment of debt, readily transferable to any other | ||
| person or State. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0052. BULLION DEPOSITORY ACCOUNT. (a) The | ||
| comptroller serving as trustee or another person appointed by the | ||
| comptroller who shall serve as trustee shall hold in trust on behalf | ||
| of the currency holders all specie and bullion owned or purchased | ||
| for such purposes. The trustee shall maintain enough specie or | ||
| bullion to provide for the redemption of all units of the currency | ||
| issued but not redeemed. | ||
| (b) The trustee shall establish an account in the Texas | ||
| Bullion Depository to hold in trust as trustee on the behalf of the | ||
| currency holders all specie and bullion owned and allocated or | ||
| purchased for such purposes. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0053. PURCHASE AND ISSUANCE. (a) A person or any | ||
| State of the United States, may be issued their currency by the | ||
| comptroller upon: | ||
| (1) Making payment to the comptroller for the purpose | ||
| of a purchase of specie or bullion to be represented by currency | ||
| together with any fee charged under Section 404A.0058; or | ||
| (2) Designating specie or bullion held on account in | ||
| the Texas Bullion Depository for the purpose of being represented | ||
| by currency together with payment of any fee charged under Section | ||
| 404A.0058. | ||
| (b) Upon receiving payment under Sec. 404A.0053 (a)(1) or an | ||
| account holder's designation and payment under Sec. 404A.0053 | ||
| (a)(2), the comptroller shall: | ||
| (1) using the money received, buy specie or bullion in | ||
| the number of troy ounces of precious metal equal to the number of | ||
| units of the currency to be issued to the purchaser under | ||
| Subdivision (a); and | ||
| (2) deposit such specie or bullion into the pooled | ||
| depository account for purchaser under Subdivision(a); and | ||
| (3) issue to the purchaser an account with or add to an | ||
| existing currency account a number of units of the currency equal to | ||
| the amount of specie or bullion that the purchase money received | ||
| from the account holder would buy at the market price on that date | ||
| as published by the Texas Bullion Depository. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0054. REDEMPTION OF CURRENCY FOR US DOLLARS. (a) | ||
| A person who holds currency may present to the comptroller any | ||
| number of units of the currency to redeem for US dollars. | ||
| (b) On receipt of a person's request for redemption, the | ||
| comptroller shall: | ||
| (1) sell from the specie or bullion held in the pooled | ||
| depository account a number of troy ounces equal to the number of | ||
| units of the currency being redeemed; and | ||
| (2) provide to the person an amount of US dollars equal | ||
| to the amount received from the sale of specie or bullion under | ||
| Subdivision (1), less a fee charged under Section 404A.0058. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0055. REDEMPTION OF CURRENCY FOR SPECIE OR | ||
| BULLION. (a) Subject to Sec. 404A.0051 an account holder who holds | ||
| the currency may present to the comptroller any number of units of | ||
| the currency to redeem for an equal number of troy ounces of specie | ||
| or bullion from the pooled depository account. | ||
| (b) On receipt of a request for redemption, the comptroller | ||
| shall: | ||
| (1) withdraw the equivalent number of troy ounces of | ||
| specie or bullion from the pooled depository account; and | ||
| (2) on the payment of a fee charged under Section | ||
| 404A.0058, deliver the specie or bullion as requested to the | ||
| requestor. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0056. VALUE OF CURRENCY. (a) At the time of each | ||
| transaction involving the issuance or redemption of the currency, | ||
| the comptroller shall determine the value of a unit of the currency | ||
| as published by the Texas Bullion Depository. | ||
| (b) The value of a unit of the currency at the time of a | ||
| transaction must be equal to the value of the appropriate fraction | ||
| of a troy ounce of gold or silver, respectively at the time of that | ||
| transaction as published by the Texas Bullion Depository. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0057. CERTAIN MONEY AND DEPOSITS HELD IN TRUST | ||
| AND NOT SUBJECT TO LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION. Money received under | ||
| Section 404A.0053(a), specie or bullion purchased and deposited in | ||
| the pooled depository account as provided by Section | ||
| 404A.0053(b)(1), and money received from the sale of specie or | ||
| bullion in the pooled depository account in response to a request | ||
| for redemption under Section 404A.0054 is: | ||
| (1) held by the comptroller as trustee outside the | ||
| state treasury on the behalf of persons who hold the currency; and | ||
| (2) not available for legislative appropriation. | ||
| Sec. 404A.0058. FEE. The comptroller may establish a fee | ||
| for the issuance or redemption of the currency to cover the | ||
| comptroller's costs in administering this chapter and an industry | ||
| standard merchant fee for use. The comptroller shall deposit the | ||
| net fee proceeds after costs to the credit of an account established | ||
| in the general revenue fund. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the | ||
| last day of the legislative session. | ||
