TEXAS SENATE PASSES BILL TO ESTABLISH BULLION DEPOSITORY, HELP FACILITATE TRANSACTIONS IN GOLD AND SILVER
Published: May 29, 2015
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SOURCE: 10TH AMENDMENT CENTER

A bill taking a step towards gold and silver as commonly-used legal tender in Texas passed in the state Senate today by an overwhelming 29-2 vote.

Introduced by State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R- Southlake) and four co-sponsors on Feb. 12, House Bill 483 (HB483) would create a state bullion depository. It reads, in part:

(a) The Texas Bullion Depository is established as an agency of this state in the office of the comptroller.
(b) The depository is established to serve as the custodian, guardian, and administrator of certain bullion and specie that may be transferred to or otherwise acquired by this state or an agency, a political subdivision, or another instrumentality of this state.
What the bill essentially does is create a means for transactions to occur in precious metals. It allows people to open an account and deposit their precious metals in the state depository. They could then use the electronic system to make payments to any other business or person who also holds an account.

This opening of the market is considered by many insiders to be the most important first step towards bringing sound money to mainstream acceptance.

“The key is to make it so people can use gold and silver instead of fiat paper money,” said Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center. “A bill like this won’t nullify the Fed on its own, but it is an important step forward in that direction.”

THE CONSTITUTION

Currently, all debts and taxes in Texas must either get paid with Federal Reserve Notes (dollars), authorized as legal tender by Congress, or with coins issued by the U.S. Treasury — very few of which have gold or silver in them.

But the United States Constitution states in Article I, Section 10, “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”

The legislation in Texas takes a step towards that constitutional requirement, ignored for decades in every state. Such a tactic would undermine the monopoly the Federal Reserve system by introducing competition into the monetary system.

Professor William Greene is an expert on constitutional tender and said when people in multiple states actually start using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve Notes, it would effectively nullify the Federal Reserve and end the federal government’s monopoly on money.