Texas 2023 - 88th 3rd C.S.

Texas House Bill HB157 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Dorazio H.B. No. 157
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the establishment of a currency based on gold and
7	7	silver; authorizing a fee.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
10	10	by adding Chapter 404A to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 404A. GOLD AND SILVER CURRENCY
12	12	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
13	13	Sec. 404A.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Bullion" means precious metals as defined within
15	15	the Government Code Chapter 2116 limited to gold and silver only.
16	16	(2) "Currency" means the representation of actual gold
17	17	and silver, specie and bullion held in a Depository account by a
18	18	Depository account holder as defined within the Government Code
19	19	Chapter 2116. Such representation shall reflect the exact unit(s)
20	20	of physical specie or gold and silver bullion in the pooled
21	21	depository account in its fractional troy ounce measurement as
22	22	provided by this chapter.
23	23	(3) "Precious metal" means precious metal as defined
24	24	within the Government Code Chapter 2116 limited to gold and silver.
25	25	(4) "Pooled depository account" means the account in
26	26	the Texas Bullion Depository established under Section 404A.0052.
27	27	(5) "Specie" means a precious metal stamped into coins
28	28	as defined within the Government Code Chapter 2116.
29	29	Sec. 404A.0002. RULES. The comptroller may adopt rules as
30	30	necessary or convenient to implement this chapter, including rules
31	31	to:
32	32	(1) ensure the security of the specie, bullion,
33	33	currency, transactions and related data; and
34	34	(2) prevent fraud; and
35	35	(3) prohibit transactions involving foreign nations
36	36	or enemies of this State.
37	37	SUBCHAPTER B. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF CURRENCY
38	38	Sec. 404A.0051. ESTABLISHMENT. (a) As authorized by the
39	39	U.S. Const. Art. I, § 10, the comptroller shall issue specie and
40	40	establish a currency as determined practicable.
41	41	(b) The comptroller may preferentially contract with a
42	42	private vendor having its principal place of business and its
43	43	center of operations in Texas to establish the currency or perform
44	44	other duties under this chapter. Such contract may additionally
45	45	provide for the initial start up expense of this Chapter.
46	46	(c) In establishing the currency the comptroller shall
47	47	establish a means to ensure that a person or State who holds the
48	48	currency may use such as legal tender in payment of debt, readily
49	49	transfer or assign such currency to any other person or State by
50	50	electronic means.
51	51	(d) In establishing specie, the comptroller shall
52	52	exclusively authorize the Texas Bullion Depository as the State's
53	53	issuer and ensure that the holder of such specie may use such as
54	54	legal tender in payment of debt, readily transferable to any other
55	55	person or State.
56	56	Sec. 404A.0052. BULLION DEPOSITORY ACCOUNT. (a) The
57	57	comptroller serving as trustee or another person appointed by the
58	58	comptroller who shall serve as trustee shall hold in trust on behalf
59	59	of the currency holders all specie and bullion owned or purchased
60	60	for such purposes. The trustee shall maintain enough specie or
61	61	bullion to provide for the redemption of all units of the currency
62	62	issued but not redeemed.
63	63	(b) The trustee shall establish an account in the Texas
64	64	Bullion Depository to hold in trust as trustee on the behalf of the
65	65	currency holders all specie and bullion owned and allocated or
66	66	purchased for such purposes.
67	67	Sec. 404A.0053. PURCHASE AND ISSUANCE. (a) A person or any
68	68	State of the United States, may be issued their currency by the
69	69	comptroller upon:
70	70	(1) Making payment to the comptroller for the purpose
71	71	of a purchase of specie or bullion to be represented by currency
72	72	together with any fee charged under Section 404A.0058; or
73	73	(2) Designating specie or bullion held on account in
74	74	the Texas Bullion Depository for the purpose of being represented
75	75	by currency together with payment of any fee charged under Section
76	76	404A.0058.
77	77	(b) Upon receiving payment under Sec. 404A.0053 (a)(1) or an
78	78	account holder's designation and payment under Sec. 404A.0053 (a)
79	79	(2), the comptroller shall:
80	80	(1) using the money received, buy specie or bullion in
81	81	the number of troy ounces of precious metal equal to the number of
82	82	units of the currency to be issued to the purchaser under
83	83	Subdivision (a); and
84	84	(2) deposit such specie or bullion into the pooled
85	85	depository account for purchaser under Subdivision(a); and
86	86	(3) issue to the purchaser an account with or add to an
87	87	existing currency account a number of units of the currency equal to
88	88	the amount of specie or bullion that the purchase money received
89	89	from the account holder would buy at the market price on that date
90	90	as published by the Texas Bullion Depository.
91	91	Sec. 404A.0054. REDEMPTION OF CURRENCY FOR US DOLLARS. (a)
92	92	A person who holds currency may present to the comptroller any
93	93	number of units of the currency to redeem for US dollars.
94	94	(b) On receipt of a person's request for redemption, the
95	95	comptroller shall:
96	96	(1) sell from the specie or bullion held in the pooled
97	97	depository account a number of troy ounces equal to the number of
98	98	units of the currency being redeemed; and
99	99	(2) provide to the person an amount of US dollars equal
100	100	to the amount received from the sale of specie or bullion under
101	101	Subdivision (1), less a fee charged under Section 404A.0058.
102	102	Sec. 404A.0055. REDEMPTION OF CURRENCY FOR SPECIE OR
103	103	BULLION. (a) Subject to Sec. 404A.0051 an account holder who holds
104	104	the currency may present to the comptroller any number of units of
105	105	the currency to redeem for an equal number of troy ounces of specie
106	106	or bullion from the pooled depository account.
107	107	(b) On receipt of a request for redemption, the comptroller
108	108	shall:
109	109	(1) withdraw the equivalent number of troy ounces of
110	110	specie or bullion from the pooled depository account; and
111	111	(2) on the payment of a fee charged under Section
112	112	404A.0058, deliver the specie or bullion as requested to the
113	113	requestor.
114	114	Sec. 404A.0056. VALUE OF CURRENCY. (a) At the time of each
115	115	transaction involving the issuance or redemption of the currency,
116	116	the comptroller shall determine the value of a unit of the currency
117	117	as published by the Texas Bullion Depository.
118	118	(b) The value of a unit of the currency at the time of a
119	119	transaction must be equal to the value of the appropriate fraction
120	120	of a troy ounce of gold or silver, respectively at the time of that
121	121	transaction as published by the Texas Bullion Depository.
122	122	Sec. 404A.0057. CERTAIN MONEY AND DEPOSITS HELD IN TRUST
123	123	AND NOT SUBJECT TO LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION. Money received under
124	124	Section 404A.0053(a), specie or bullion purchased and deposited in
125	125	the pooled depository account as provided by Section
126	126	404A.0053(b)(1), and money received from the sale of specie or
127	127	bullion in the pooled depository account in response to a request
128	128	for redemption under Section 404A.0054 is:
129	129	(1) held by the comptroller as trustee outside the
130	130	state treasury on the behalf of persons who hold the currency; and
131	131	(2) not available for legislative appropriation.
132	132	Sec. 404A.0058. FEE. The comptroller may establish a fee
133	133	for the issuance or redemption of the currency to cover the
134	134	comptroller's costs in administering this chapter and an industry
135	135	standard merchant fee for use. The comptroller shall deposit the
136	136	net fee proceeds after costs to the credit of an account established
137	137	in the general revenue fund.
138	138	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
139	139	last day of the legislative session.