Senate committee approves study of blockchain title registry, industry pitches pilot projects
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Summary
Senators heard from blockchain developers, national‑security proponents and land‑records advocates on House Bill 10,43, which directs the General Land Office to study a distributed‑ledger (blockchain) registry for recording title transfers through two county pilots; industry witnesses urged funding and described pilot readiness.
Senator Johnson laid out House Bill 10,43 to require the General Land Office (GLO) to conduct a two‑year study on the feasibility of a distributed‑ledger (blockchain) title registry and to convene a working group including the Texas Department of Insurance and the Department of Information Resources.
Proponents from the blockchain industry and Texas companies described how a distributed ledger could make title records tamper‑resistant, searchable by unique encrypted addresses and interoperable across counties. Tom Washington, an advisory board member for StoneARX Inc., said the study should run two county pilots (urban and rural) to assess installation steps, training, and costs. Harold Hurd, CEO of Stone ARX, told the committee that his company’s platform could “record every deed, lien, easement in real time, eliminating duplicate titles, preventing fraud and automating escrow and funding workflows.”
Judge Luca, representing the Polkadot ecosystem and the Texas Blockchain Council, said the architecture would allow counties to customize local chains while remaining interoperable, reducing delays and the need to digitize every historic record before locating it. Senators questioned why the GLO would lead the study rather than other agencies; witnesses said the GLO was the appropriate state custodian for land records. Witnesses requested implementation funding and technical assistance to run pilots.
The committee received the testimony and left the bill pending.
Actions
Public testimony taken; bill left pending after the hearing.
Why it matters
A state study and pilots could determine whether blockchain can speed closings, reduce fraud, and lower administrative costs for county clerks and title companies; industry witnesses also asked for targeted funding to run pilots.