Committee adopts bill to designate gold and silver as optional legal tender in Florida

The Banking and Insurance Committee on Oct. 12 adopted a delete-all amendment to Senate Bill 132 that designates gold and silver as legal tender in Florida and establishes a statutory framework for custody, audits and electronic transfers.

Senator Rodriguez (the committee took up a strike-all amendment introduced in committee) told members the bill exercises a constitutional right under Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution to permit states to designate gold and silver as legal tender. The amendment defines key terms (what constitutes gold and silver and legal tender), requires regular audits to ensure holdings match customer accounts, permits electronic transfers of precious-metals balances, mandates accountings and statements, and requires qualified depositories to hold bullion equal to 100% of customer deposits. The measure also authorizes the Office of Financial Regulation to adopt rules to permit governments and qualified entities to accept or make payments using gold or silver.

Experts and advocates waived in support during public testimony. Kevin Freeman, an economist and chartered financial analyst who said he advised the Department of Defense on economic warfare, described the approach as “constitutional, historical, modern, and affordable for everyday people” and said custodial technology exists to allow fractional holdings. Citizens for Sound Money and several advocacy groups also registered support.

Committee members had few questions and the bill, with the adopted amendment, was reported favorably with committee substitute.

Ending: The bill advances with new custodial and auditing requirements; sponsors and some stakeholders said the framework is optional for account holders and designed to be compatible with existing state regulation of depositories.