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Committee hears uniform commercial code update to add digital-asset rules, ban central bank digital currencies
Summary
Senate Bill 426 would modernize Montana’s Uniform Commercial Code by replacing "writing" with "record," adding statutory treatment for electronic signatures and creating a UCC classification and transfer rules for "controllable electronic records" such as cryptocurrencies.
Sen. Vince Vinton (sponsor) told the committee Senate Bill 426 updates Montana’s Uniform Commercial Code for digital transactions and creates a UCC framework for electronic assets, including a new category the bill calls a "controllable electronic record." The sponsor said the changes reflect business practice across states and explicitly prohibit central bank digital currencies in the UCC definitions.
Jonathan Byington, a law professor who serves as a Montana uniform law commissioner, said the bill replaces archaic words such as "writing" with the neutral term "record," expands the definition of "sign" to include electronic signatures, and creates rules for transfers and protections for purchasers of controllable electronic records. Byington used the example: "An example of a controllable electronic record is Bitcoin, cryptocurrency." He told the committee the bill does not change taxation or money-transmission laws but creates a consistent commercial framework for lenders, buyers and sellers who want legal certainty when using digital assets as collateral.
The Montana Bankers Association, Montana Chamber of Commerce and the Uniform Law Commission spokespeople testified in favor, saying modernized rules help banks, dealers and customers do commerce across state lines. No informational witnesses opposed the change at the hearing.
Committee members asked technical questions about definitions and the bill’s interaction with other statutes; proponents said the ULC drafting process and adoption in many other states provide an established template and that Montana would remain aligned with other jurisdictions.
No committee vote was recorded during the hearing.
