Bill Text: TX SB1428 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the use of silver and gold coins as legal tender.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-18 - Referred to Business & Commerce [SB1428 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SB1428-Introduced.html
84R11555 MK-F | ||
By: Hall | S.B. No. 1428 |
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relating to the use of silver and gold coins as legal tender. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds and | ||
declares that: | ||
(1) the State of Texas is experiencing an economic | ||
crisis of severe magnitude caused in large part by the | ||
unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve notes for silver | ||
and gold coin as legal tender in this state; and | ||
(2) immediate exercise of the power of the State of | ||
Texas under Section 10, Article I, United States Constitution, is | ||
necessary to protect the safety, health, and welfare of the people | ||
of this state, by guaranteeing to them a constitutional and | ||
economically sound monetary system. | ||
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this Act: | ||
(1) "State" includes the State of Texas and all | ||
executive and administrative departments and agencies, courts, | ||
instrumentalities, and political subdivisions of the state, and all | ||
elected and appointed officials, employees, and agents of the state | ||
acting in their official capacities. | ||
(2) "Silver and gold coin" includes coined or minted | ||
silver and gold coins of the United States, or silver and gold coins | ||
of any foreign nation adopted as money of the United States by | ||
authority of the United States Congress pursuant to Section 8, | ||
Article I, United States Constitution. The term does not include | ||
any note, obligation security, bill of credit, or other form or | ||
species of paper currency or other instrument or document intended | ||
to circulate as money emitted or issued by the United States, or any | ||
department, agency, or officer of the United States, or by the | ||
Federal Reserve System or any board, committee, member bank, | ||
instrumentality, official, or agent of the Federal Reserve System. | ||
SECTION 3. LEGAL TENDER. Beginning September 1, 2015, the | ||
state shall not recognize, employ, or compel any person or entity to | ||
recognize or employ anything other than silver and gold coin as a | ||
legal tender in payment of any debt arising out of: | ||
(1) taxation by the state, where the applicable | ||
authority for the tax shall mandate the calculation and payment of | ||
the tax in silver and gold coin; | ||
(2) expropriation of private property pursuant to the | ||
exercise of the power of eminent domain by the state or by any | ||
entity privileged by state law to exercise the power of eminent | ||
domain; or | ||
(3) judgments, decrees, or orders of any state court | ||
or administrative agency in civil or criminal actions or | ||
proceedings, except where, and only to the extent that the court or | ||
agency granting an award finds, on the basis of clear and convincing | ||
evidence, that payment of silver and gold coin does not constitute | ||
just compensation for the damages suffered by the prevailing party, | ||
and orders: | ||
(A) specific performance of a contract or | ||
agreement by other than the payment of money; | ||
(B) specific restitution of identifiable | ||
property other than money; | ||
(C) other similar relief; or | ||
(D) contracts or agreements for the payment of | ||
wages, salaries, fees, or other monetary compensation to any | ||
person, corporation, or other entity that provides goods or | ||
services to the state in aid of the performance of governmental | ||
functions. | ||
SECTION 4. UNIT AND MEASURE OF LEGAL TENDER. The unit and | ||
measure for determining what constitutes legal tender in payment of | ||
any debt specified in Section 3 of this Act is the standard silver | ||
dollar, containing 371.25 grains (troy) fine silver, as coined or | ||
minted by authority of Congress pursuant to Section 8, Article I, | ||
United States Constitution. | ||
SECTION 5. VALUE OF SILVER OR GOLD COIN. The value of any | ||
silver or gold coin as legal tender in payment of any debt specified | ||
in Section 3 of this Act must be denominated as dollars, calculated | ||
as follows: | ||
(1) the value of any silver coin shall be calculated by | ||
dividing the weight of fine silver in grains (troy) that the coin | ||
contains by 371.25 grains, and expressing the quotient in dollars; | ||
and | ||
(2) the value of any gold coin shall be calculated by | ||
multiplying the weight of fine gold in grains (troy) that the coin | ||
contains by the proportion by weight between silver and gold as | ||
determined by the comptroller, dividing the resulting product by | ||
371.25 grains, and expressing the quotient in dollars. | ||
SECTION 6. COMPTROLLER CERTIFICATION. At the beginning of | ||
each business day, the comptroller shall: | ||
(1) determine the average proportion by weight by | ||
which gold exchanges against silver in the major precious metals | ||
markets in the state; | ||
(2) immediately make the determination available to | ||
any person upon request without charge; and | ||
(3) permanently certify and record the determination. | ||
SECTION 7. STATE RECORDING REQUIREMENTS. Beginning | ||
September 1, 2015, the state shall denominate all public accounts | ||
and record the value of all public assets and liabilities in | ||
standard silver dollars. | ||
SECTION 8. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this Act or | ||
its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the | ||
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this | ||
Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or | ||
application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are declared | ||
to be severable. | ||
SECTION 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September | ||
1, 2015. |