![\"FILE](\"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/KCC2OFSQJJRLM7X5ON2WUWFUOA.jpg?auth=ff3928e9dae20d4f35befe20c9a472de9dd099bf42007846aad59bbd839e231b&width=830&quality=80\")
<\/p>\nMore than 50 years after the United States abandoned the gold standard, Texas lawmakers are moving to bring precious metals into everyday use. The new legislation, House Bill 1056, aims to give Texans the ability, likely through a mobile app or debit card system, to use gold and silver they hold in the state\u2019s bullion depository to purchase groceries or other standard items. The bill would also recognize gold and silver as legal tender in Texas, with the caveat that the state\u2019s recognition must also align with currency laws laid out in the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn short, this bill makes gold and silver functional money in Texas,\u201d Rep. Mark Dorazio (R-San Antonio), the main driving force behind the effort, said during one 2024 presentation. \u201cIt has to be functional, it has to be practical and it has to be usable.\u201d<\/p>\n
After picking up major amendments in the Senate aimed at ensuring the legislation complies with existing laws \u2014 most notably, the Senate nixed language from an earlier version that sought to establish an entirely new digital currency based on the metals \u2014 the proposal cleared both legislative chambers late last week, and was sent to the governor\u2019s desk on Sunday. Governor Greg Abbott does not appear to have indicated whether he intends to sign the bill. In a statement, Abbott\u2019s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said the governor \u201cwill thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.\u201d Dorazio and state Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Mineola), who authored a companion bill in that chamber, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s gold and silver legislative push comes roughly a decade after Texas created the country\u2019s first state-run precious metals depository \u2014 and as Republican lawmakers around the country are pushing more broadly to move away from dependence on fiat currency, or money issued and backed by a central government.<\/p>\n
To date legislators in at least 11 states, including Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona and West Virginia, have introduced bills that declare gold and silver as legal tender, or move for taxation exemptions on the metals, although many of those efforts have failed to become law.<\/p>\n
Texas state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, left, speaks with Texas state Rep. Mark Dorazio, R-San Antonio, before a vote on a new speaker during opening day of the 89th Texas Legislative Session in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo\/Stephen Spillman)<\/p>\n
State and federal lawmakers, including in Texas, have also been pushing to expand the viability of cryptocurrency, including with government-held reserves. Texas\u2019 highest-profile piece of crypto-related legislation this year, Senate Bill 21, which would create a state reserve of bitcoin and potentially other cryptocurrencies controlled by the state comptroller, is now likely to become law after formally advancing through the state legislature on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBitcoin doesn\u2019t need Texas,\u201d Brian Morgenstern, a policy adviser for the Texas Blockchain Council, the state\u2019s leading crypto lobbying group, recently argued in an interview with The News. \u201cTexas and the United States need bitcoin, because it\u2019s this modern phenomenon that is an outstanding asset.\u201d<\/p>\n
The anti-fiat movement generally argues that alternative currencies offer a hedge against inflation and a greater degree of autonomy, because standard-issue currency is theoretically vulnerable to government manipulation. While such concerns have been lingering for decades, more recently they\u2019ve taken on a more heated pitch. Many see an inflection point amid rising inflation, ballooning federal debt, and a U.S. dollar that recently slid to its lowest value in three years \u2014 all of which raise questions about the currency\u2019s central role in global finance.<\/p>\n
While several states have pushed for the legalization of gold and silver, those efforts still left the metals functionally unusable, Dorazio has argued, because they didn\u2019t include a mechanism for making purchases. \u201cHow am I supposed to go to the grocery store and buy groceries? How am I supposed to put gas in my car with a gold bar?\u201d he said last year. \u201cToday it\u2019s an impossibility. You just can\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
HB 1056 aims to solve that problem by enabling the state comptroller to \u201cestablish or authorize one or more electronic systems\u201d for consumers and vendors to make and receive payments with their precious metals held in the state depository. The comptroller would also have the ability to contract the work to third parties and charge associated fees.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FILE – Gold bars are stored at the U.S. Depository in Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Sept. 24, 1974. (AP Photo\/Barry Thumma, File)<\/p>\n
In addition to many elected Texas Democrats and residents \u2014 some who were bewildered as the measure advanced through the legislature \u2014 fiscal watchdogs have opposed the bill because of the associated costs. Meanwhile, banking groups that include the Texas Bankers Association and Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT), have raised objections over its lack of consumer protections.<\/p>\n
The latest, more watered-down version of the bill amounted to \u201ca compromise\u201d that helped address IBAT\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the New Legislation More than 50 years after the United States abandoned the gold standard, Texas lawmakers are moving to bring precious metals into everyday use. The new legislation, House Bill 1056, aims to give Texans the ability, likely through a mobile app or debit card system, to use gold and silver they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":6963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-shopping"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/CAIX3RJYG33LOBNSMTLXZ7DEB4.jpg?auth=18717a2d543b8be04b7eb116edaa06acfae56a38f48edaa61e38aeed25956af2&height=630&width=1200&smart=true&quality=80","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6962"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6962"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6964,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6962\/revisions\/6964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}