APOPKA, Fla.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed “transactional gold” legislation on May 27, aiming to help Floridians use precious metals in commerce and savings to protect their purchasing power from inflation.
The move can also protect the freedom and privacy of citizens if federal policymakers were to ever revisit Biden-era plans for tools such as a central bank digital currency, the governor said. Those federal proposals were among the key reasons this sort of state policy was pursued in the first place, he said.
The new law, passed unanimously by lawmakers in both chambers, aims to create a system that citizens can use to buy, store, sell, save, and transact with gold and silver.
It creates a framework for precious metals to become a part of everyday commerce, with backing and authorization from the state.
Eventually, the law will pave the way for consumers to use a debit card-style payment card or app to pay for everyday needs with precious metals held in a depository. Merchants, however, could choose to be paid in dollars if they prefer.
The metals are now considered “legal tender” under state law, making them exempt from state sales taxes.
“We have the ability to do this under the federal constitution,” DeSantis said at a signing ceremony including lawmakers, political leaders, supporters, and media.
Like other proponents of the measure, he pointed to Article I, Section 10, of the U.S. Constitution. It says no state shall “make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”
“We are the first large state to step up and to get this done,” the governor said. “And this is right out of the Constitution of the United States.”
The legislation, he said, will authorize money-services businesses like check cashers or PayPal to transmit and accept payment in gold and silver.
“That means these precious metals can start functioning like real currency again, not just investment vehicles for the wealthy,” DeSantis said.
Response to Proposed CBDCs and Inflation
The Florida governor also offered some background on how and why this issue even came to the forefront in recent years.“We were the leader in the entire country in banning the use of a so-called central bank digital currency,” DeSantis said, pointing to a state law banning CBDCs as the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve were working on such a system.
CBDCs, he said, were designed to “eliminate cash and force everything into a digital currency.”
“This would be one controlled by the central bank,” he said. “And why would they want to do that? Well, they have more agency over your financial independence if they do it. So, we recognize it as a frontal assault on your economic freedom.”
Financial leader Art Ally, who leads the Florida-based Christian investment firm Timothy Partners, was credited by lawmakers at the event for his instrumental role in advancing the legislation by connecting key people.
“The reasons I got involved in this were simple: I was really concerned about the prospect of a Central Bank Digital Currency being used to undermine our freedom, and we know that gold historically has been a way for people to protect themselves from inflation,” Ally told The Epoch Times after the signing.
Fully Bipartisan
Bankson, also a pastor and the main sponsor behind the bill, celebrated the fact that every single one of his colleagues in the Legislature ended up supporting it.The reason is that everyone from both parties and in both legislative chambers can see what is happening to the dollar, he said.
“For over 190 years, gold and silver backed our currency—it was our money,” he said from the podium at the signing ceremony. “However, in 1971, President Nixon removed the dollar from the gold standard. Since then, we’ve seen over a 90 percent decrease in its buying power.”
This is because “fiat money has nothing behind it,” said Bankson, noting that in 2023, a deal backing the dollar with oil in international markets was quietly shelved.
“Fortunately, our founders, they guaranteed each state the constitutional right to declare gold and silver as legal tender,” Bankson said.
Speaking to The Epoch Times after the ceremony, Bankson thanked all those who played a part in getting the “landmark legislation” passed into law.
The Legislation
Among the key features of the legislation, known as House Bill 999, is the declaration that gold and silver are legal tender, or approved money, Bankson said.It also “establishes the framework for depositories within the State of Florida with all the checks and balances and independent auditing,” he said.
The new law also enables gold and silver of standard weight and purity to be accessed by electronic transaction using tools such as a debit card or an app, making it a functional currency.
Finally, it “ensures the right between willing parties to transact legally with gold and silver,” he said.
The Man Behind It
After DeSantis and Bankson gave their remarks, economist Kevin Freeman—the man who inspired the movement behind the bill—went to the podium to share why it was so important.“With this signing, Governor DeSantis will make it possible for anyone to have their own personal gold and silver standard,” said Freeman, who authored the book “Pirate Money: Discovering the Founders’ Hidden Plan for Economic Justice and Defeating the Great Reset.”
“By making precious metals transactional under state authority as required by the U.S. Constitution, Florida enters a new era of economic justice and real prosperity,” he said.
Freeman, who also hosts the “Economic War Room” podcast, said there was a biblical reason for seeking to restore “sound” money.
“You see, God hates dishonest weights and measures,” he said. “He wants money to be fair for all people. And with the way the federal government racks up debt and creates money from nothing, it has been far from fair.”
“This law, once signed, will give people a choice in how they hold their money and how they spend their money,” said Freeman.
While other states have passed or are moving toward similar systems, Florida’s legislation is “groundbreaking, comprehensive, and powerful,” he said.
Speaking to The Epoch Times after the ceremony, Freeman praised DeSantis for encouraging him to write the book “Pirate Money,” which lawmakers nationwide credit as the inspiration behind the movement. He also thanked Florida for leading the way.
“This will undoubtedly encourage other states to return to gold and silver as money, using modern technology,” he said.
The Feds
One major concern among proponents of transactional gold who spoke with The Epoch Times is federal taxation policy.The IRS treats precious monetary metals used in trade and commerce as investments subject to capital gains taxes.
That U.S. tax policy makes it far more difficult for everyday citizens to use the metals in trade, according to monetary economists.
When asked by The Epoch Times whether and how states such as Florida could work with the Trump administration to fix that, DeSantis expressed optimism.
“I think this is in keeping with a lot of what the Trump administration’s policies have been,” DeSantis told The Epoch Times. “They’ve embraced things like Bitcoin, for example, which is also a hedge against the fiat currency.”
“So, I don’t think it would be something that would be out of character for where they’ve already gone. And I think as more states do this, I think they likely will be in a position where they probably want to act.
“I feel good that we could probably get the feds to clear the way on this under current arrangements.”
Neither the Treasury nor the Federal Reserve responded to a request for comment on the new law by publication time.
