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Committee sends gold-and-silver legal-tender bill to Senate floor
Summary
House Bill 177, introduced by Representative Steve Miller, would allow coins and bullion of gold and silver to be used as legal tender by willing buyers and sellers; the committee advanced the bill with a due-pass recommendation.
Representative Steve Miller told the committee House Bill 177 would allow gold and silver coins and bullion — defined by stamped weight and purity — to be used as legal tender in Idaho for transactions between willing buyers and sellers, relying on Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution as legislative intent.
Miller said the measure does not compel anyone to accept metal as payment and that it bases legal tender on the metal's value rather than an arbitrary stamped value. He noted similar bills have passed in other states and urged the committee to advance the measure.
Senators asked whether other states have adopted similar laws; Miller said roughly eight states had adopted such measures by his count. The committee voted to send House Bill 177 to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation.
The bill will next be considered on the Senate floor.
