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Committee adopts amendment to harmonize 'deposit account' definition amid central bank digital currency discussion
Summary
Senate Bill 47 was amended to ensure a consistent definition of 'deposit account' across Arkansas code; sponsors framed the change as a 'speed bump' to address potential future central bank digital currency concerns.
The Senate Insurance & Commerce Committee adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 47 to align definitions of "deposit account" across the Arkansas Code, a change sponsors described as a preemptive measure related to central bank digital currency (CBDC) concerns.
Senator Boyd presented the amendment and explained it was intended to ensure consistency where the code contained two different definitions of deposit account. "It was pointed out to me after I filed the bill that, there is there were 2 places in Arkansas code where we had a definition of deposit account. And so I wanted to make sure we had consistency in the code so this amendment make sure that both places will say the same thing," Senator Boyd said.
During extended committee discussion, Boyd described central bank digital currency as a hypothetical issuance of digital dollars by the Federal Reserve and said the bill is intended to be a "speed bump" rather than an absolute prohibition. "What it is not is it's not Bitcoin. It's not a cryptocurrency... the Central Bank of the United States, rather than issuing physical dollars, would issue digital currency," Boyd said, adding privacy and banking-structure concerns as reasons for the change.
Committee members asked technical and policy questions. Senators raised concerns about whether the Federal Reserve could preempt state action, about the current absence of a U.S. central bank digital currency, and about engaging the banking industry for technical input. Senator Johnson (chair) and others urged that the Arkansas Bankers Association and the Department of Commerce attend a future hearing to answer technical questions.
The committee voted to adopt the amendment (motion on the amendment was seconded by Senator Johnson). The bill was presented as amended; committee members discussed engrossing the amendment and arranging follow-up testimony from the banking industry before taking final action on the bill at a later date.
No final passage vote on Senate Bill 47 was recorded in the committee transcript; the record shows only adoption of the amendment and plans to bring banking-industry witnesses to a future meeting for additional information.
