[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6376102,"mediaKeyId","2140558-fd14bcbfc4a34adcd8fc1acef47c0474","parentId",2140558,"title","Sponsor urges 1% state investment in gold and silver; treasurer cites cost, security and liquidity trade-offs","audioSeconds",2091,"startMs",307000,"endMs",2398000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2140558-fd14bcbfc4a34adcd8fc1acef47c0474&start=307&end=2398","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2140558-fd14bcbfc4a34adcd8fc1acef47c0474/thumbnail_307000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6376102/North-Dakota/Sponsor-urges-1-state-investment-in-gold-and-silver-treasurer-cites-cost-security-and-liquidity-trade-offs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6376102-6bd7510f1ccf6e305781dee4763389a1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154554&Signature=WGCfrUg7-BOQbv20X6Le1fqYDuEjBI4siSRTF661LMBSQCAx2EUoTwhVQpud1CELVO07BEAtujUN56xdreQ3vIgLheBkRwb-2CUFMK2NA3uyIrBIOB1R8CRfDL009QNScGtvGWLEltjuZqWZkxNdw0VncMJ28Thvp1HSXG8z9n7J6k4QAGaMLGZb5Pju7zvl-J4Gp9Xt3ZaX3-RVHv51q9Y7XUG3qb1uNpVux~IqQ~qdura2cy8Uml~EaA3o12uiBhxThEY4yoDbydvxDwVor1fSaceMaLD-jv1hzIfMQCpIjpp2fGV6TQWBc2y4iWRv9VJNliNwp5d1EjmcfQEGkQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","House Industry, Business and Labor, ND","date","2025-01-22T00:00:00Z","article","Representative Dan Johnson, District 24, presented House Bill 1183 to the Industry, Business and Labor Committee, saying the bill \"seeks to mandate that the state treasurer invest at least 1% of the general fund into gold and silver bullion.\"

The bill would require the state treasurer to hold a minimum allocation of physical gold and silver as a partial hedge against inflation and systemic risks, and it would authorize a study of how precious metals could \"augment and protect the state of North Dakota, its economy, and its citizens,\" the sponsor said.

JP Cortez, executive director of the Sound Money Defense League, testified in support and told the committee that the proposal is a modest, state-level step against what he called federal monetary risks: \"Gold is an inflation hedge with a 5000 year history and was the 2nd best performing asset of all asset classes in 2024.\" He also emphasized the bill would limit ownership to physical bullion stored in a treasurer‑approved vault and would not authorize paper or electronically traded gold.

State Treasurer Thomas Beadle described the office’s practical concerns and the fiscal-note estimate for the bill’s study. Beadle said the treasurer’s vault is not currently used for currency and that the office lacks facilities and round‑the‑clock security for storing physical bullion. \"The current daily balance in the general fund is just shy of $1,100,000,000,\" Beadle said, adding that 1% of that balance would be \"in the $10,000,000 range.\" He said the treasurer’s office requested funding to contract outside experts to produce a substantive security and cost analysis rather than a rapid, in‑house literature review.

Beadle also flagged how a 1% minimum in non‑yielding physical bullion would change earnings patterns: \"An asset like gold ... doesn't pay a dividend. There's not a dividend coming off of that. There's not an earning coming off of that. You don't realize the earning until you sell that asset and get the growth in the valuation.\" He warned any allocation to non‑yielding specie would reduce interest income that currently flows back to state funds.

Don Morgan, president of the Bank of North Dakota, testified neutrally that the bank does not hold physical gold and that its portfolio mix is chosen to prioritize mission‑driven liquidity and lending capacity. \"We don't hold any physical gold today,\" Morgan said, explaining the bank keeps a large portion of assets in liquid, government‑backed securities so it can provide rapid liquidity to the state during budget shortfalls.

Committee members discussed operational questions raised by the treasurer and the bank, including where bullion would be stored (state vault, Bank of North Dakota, or third‑party private vaults), ongoing security and transportation costs, and the effect on other programs that rely on interest earnings. The treasurer and the bank repeatedly noted that diverting deposits reduces the bank’s ability to leverage those funds into loans and other state economic programs.

No formal vote was taken. The committee closed the hearing on HB 1183 and held the bill over for committee work.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Industry, Business and Labor II Jan 22, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Dan Johnson, District 24, presented House Bill 1183 to the Industry, Business and Labor Committee, saying the bill \"seeks to mandate that the state treasurer invest at least 1% of the general fund into gold and silver bullion.\"","taxTitle","Industry, Business and Labor, House of Representatives, Legislative, North Dakota","taxId",28894,"location","North Dakota","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6376097,"Committee hears bill to recognize gold and silver as legal tender, and to exclude CBDC; regulators warn of banking, tax and consumer risks",1872,2390000,4262000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2140558-fd14bcbfc4a34adcd8fc1acef47c0474&start=2390&end=4262","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2140558-fd14bcbfc4a34adcd8fc1acef47c0474/thumbnail_2390000.jpg","/articles/6376097/North-Dakota/Committee-hears-bill-to-recognize-gold-and-silver-as-legal-tender-and-to-exclude-CBDC-regulators-warn-of-banking-tax-and-consumer-risks","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6376097-620e35d96bf6ee656410bea5a5b25adf/orig.mp4?Expires=1771154554&Signature=Bugzq7JnKdC9yZ~XtRQvtzz7SEIUYGcA5d-gXhWCoL-749dYb-dUBA6Gcnxhxd3jvx4I0rCIn1wlovg7kUfkeE97Mwd-JU0P92p2Usrhd3KUw4znxoUvSOxE~v3EpzJqGPwiC4ptea2TvtSzhtmbr575TOtYD3osJJSBEBoPVIhrh6diesMDSSmKADasncHiscslqoJ0KuKKqRQKZLxe82PIckUkjR~5i-wmcBAf-DuvegRasBlu663Z2tJ4eGHrqG0AUtV0QivsOIWxeAtEGLMB6X0cbdEXFHOT3SZiEIFKkD9X7Z3xeThI5anNsK5j9Y35-XtQlUiZxY5spZfNWg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Nathan Thalmann, District 34, introduced House Bill 1441 to the Industry, Business and Labor Committee, saying the measure \"seeks to define gold and silver as legal tender\" and to define terms including \"specie\" and central bank digital currency (CBDC). Thalmann told the committee the bill is not intended to create state currency and that he would offer an amendment to prevent anyone from being compelled to accept specie in ordinary transactions.

Citizen supporter Patrick Hansen testified that the bill would protect residents from a prospective CBDC and offer private options to hold and spend gold or silver. \"I believe Utah, Indiana, and Florida ... are considering it also,\" Hansen said, and described private debit‑card programs that let users spend holdings of gold and silver stored with third‑party providers.

Lisa Cruz, commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions, testified in opposition and warned of practical and regulatory problems if the bill becomes law as written. Cruz said legal tender status could require banks and credit unions to accept specie for debt repayment and would complicate balance‑sheet reporting because precious metal instruments fluctuate in value. She told the committee that the bill’s proposed definition of legal tender would expand the department’s money‑transmitter oversight to include transactions in gold and silver and that the office lacks in‑house capacity to authenticate third‑party bullion instruments.

\"Banks and credit unions are required to have fair value expressed in dollars on their balance sheet,\" Cruz said, and adding specie as legal tender would make valuation and authenticity checks difficult for supervised institutions and for regulators.

Rick Kleberg, president and CEO of the North Dakota Bankers Association, also testified in opposition but offered amendment language the association favors. Kleberg said the legislature has previously limited how digital dollars are treated in state law and asked that the bill explicitly exclude only a U.S. central bank digital currency from the definition of digital currency, not foreign digital currencies used by trading partners. He also said the bill should include a clause stating \"No person shall be required to offer or accept specie legal tender ... nor shall any person incur liability for refusing to offer or accept any such legal tender except specifically provided by contract.\" Kleberg said that caveat is common in other states’ measures.

Matt Pearl of the Office of the State Tax Commissioner asked for a statutory clarification on how acceptance of specie should be treated for sales and income tax purposes — specifically whether a seller accepting gold or silver would be subject to income tax on the value received.

No committee vote was taken. The committee closed the hearing on HB 1441 and held the bill over for committee work.","Representative Nathan Thalmann, District 34, introduced House Bill 1441 to define gold and silver as legal tender and to define specie and central bank digital currency.","actionData","errors"]

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Sponsor urges 1% state investment in gold and silver; treasurer cites cost, security and liquidity trade-offs

Committee hears bill to recognize gold and silver as legal tender, and to exclude CBDC; regulators warn of banking, tax and consumer risks