Texas Senate Passes Bill to Establish Bullion Depository, Help Facilitate Transactions in Gold and Silver

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Texas Senate Passes Bill to Establish Bullion Depository, Help Facilitate Transactions in Gold and Silver

Texas Senate Passes Bill to Establish Bullion Depository, Help Facilitate Transactions in Gold and Silver

 

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AUSTIN, Tex. (May 26, 2015) – 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.

(

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.

Over time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes).

As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.

Once things get to that point, Federal Reserve notes would become largely unwanted and irrelevant for ordinary people. Nullifying the Fed on a state by state level is what will get us there. The passage of HB483 would mark the first step toward that ultimate goal.

NEXT UP

HB483 previously passed the House by a vote of 140-1.  After some amendments were added in committee on the Senate side, the bill will first go back to the House for concurrence.  On Twitter, Capriglione said the amendments were “minor” and in the vote, he “will concur.”

 

Should the House join with Capriglione, the bill will move to Gov. Abbott’s desk for a signature.

Michael Boldin contributed to this report.

http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/05/texas-senate-passes-bill-to-establish-bullion-depository-help-facilitate-transactions-in-gold-and-silver/

Edited May 31, 2015 by Butifldrm

[truthis]

Bump

[Muleslayer]

I am all for this.

Put some of my hard money in Texas!

[Nelg]

Texas Bill Would Legalize Gold and Silver as Legal Tender, Help Nullify the Fed

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AUSTIN, Tex. (Mar. 17, 2015) A bill legalizing the constitution by authorizing the use of gold and silver as legal tender was introduced in the Texas state Senate last week.

Introduced by State Sen. Konni Burton (R-10) on March 11, Senate Bill 1245 (SB1245) re-affirms gold and silver as legal tender in the state of Texas on a voluntary basis. Under the bill, individuals would be free to “use gold or silver coin or gold or silver bullion as legal tender in this state for the payment of any private or public debt.”

This bill would mark the first step toward currency competition. If sound money is given a foothold in the marketplace against Federal Reserve notes, the people would be able to choose the time-tested stability of gold and silver over the central bank’s rapidly-depreciating paper currency. The freedom of choice expanded by SB1245 can allow Texas residents to secure the purchasing power of their money.

COMPANION BILL

SB1245 works hand-in-hand with another bill filed in the state Senate this year. Introduced by Burton and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, Senate Bill 989 (SB989) would create a state bullion depository. It reads, in part:

Sec. 2116.002. TEXAS BULLION DEPOSITORY.

(a) The Texas Bullion Depository is established as an agency of this state in the office of the comptroller.

(

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 intergovernmental transactions to occur in precious metals. Taxes could be paid in precious metals and it would allow people who receive payments from the government to elect precious metals for payment. It would also allow normal citizens 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 hold an account.

In short, it will help establish a system whereby people will be able to more easily conduct day-to-day transactions by gold and silver, an essential step in the promotion and use of sound money.

“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. “Working together, these bills won’t nullify the Fed on their own, but they’re an important step forward in that direction.”

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Currently, all debts and taxes in Arizona 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 Constitutional tender act 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.

Over time, as residents of the state use both Federal Reserve notes and silver and gold coins, the fact that the coins hold their value more than Federal Reserve notes do will lead to a “reverse Gresham’s Law” effect, where good money (gold and silver coins) will drive out bad money (Federal Reserve notes). As this happens, a cascade of events can begin to occur, including the flow of real wealth toward the state’s treasury, an influx of banking business from outside of the state – as people in other states carry out their desire to bank with sound money – and an eventual outcry against the use of Federal Reserve notes for any transactions.

Once things get to that point, Federal Reserve notes would become largely unwanted and irrelevant for ordinary people. Nullifying the Fed on a state by state level is what will get us there. The passage of SB1245 would mark the first step toward that ultimate goal.

The bill has yet to receive a committee assignment at the present time. It must pass through a committee successfully before it can receive a vote in the full Senate.

[Butifldrm]

Kyle Bass Was Right: Texas To Create Own Bullion Depository, Repatriate $1 Billion Of Gold

 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/01/2015 17:10 -0400

• Most investors have heard Kyle Bass' rather eloquent phrase, "buying gold is just buying a put against the idiocy of the political cycle. It's that simple." However, what few may remember was his warnings in 2011, suggesting the University of Texas Investment Management Co. take delivery of its gold - as opposed to trusting it in the 'safe' hands of COMEX massively levered paper warehouse. Now, as The Star Telegram reports, Texas is going one step further with State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione asking the Legislature to create a Texas Bullion Depository, where Texas could store its gold. The goal is to create a secure facility that would allow the state to bring home more than $1 billion in gold bars that are owned by UTIMCO and are now housed at HSBC in New York.

  •  

    From 2011:

    And now, as The Star Telegram reports, UTMICO would prefer a Texas depository than a New York one...

     

     

    "The University of Texas Investment Management Co., the second-largest U.S. academic endowment, took delivery of almost $1 billion in gold bullion and is storing the bars in a New York vault, according to the fund’s board."

     

    The decision to turn the fund’s investment into gold bars was influenced by Kyle Bass, a Dallas hedge fund manager and member of the endowment’s board,Zimmerman said at its annual meeting on April 14. Bass made $500 million on the U.S. subprime-mortgage collapse.

     

    “Central banks are printing more money than they ever have, so what’s the value of money in terms of purchases of goods and services,” Bass said yesterday in a telephone interview. “I look at gold as just another currency that they can’t print any more of.”

    *  *  *

     

     

    “We are not talking Fort Knox,” Capriglione said. “But when I first announced this, I got so many emails and phone calls from people literally all over the world who said they want to store their gold … in a Texas depository.

     

    “People have this image of Texas as big and powerful … so for a lot of people, this is exactly where they would want to go with their gold.” And other precious metals.

     

    House Bill 483 would let the Texas comptroller’s office establish the state’s first bullion depository at a location yet to be determined.

     

    Capriglione’s changes to the bill must be approved by Monday, the last day of the 84th legislative session.

     

    The goal is to create a secure facility that would allow the state to bring home more than $1 billion in gold bars that are owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Co. and are now housed at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in New York.

     

    “The depository would be an agency of the state located in the Office of the Comptroller, directed by an administrator appointed by the Comptroller with the advice and consent of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Senate,” according to a fiscal analysis of the bill.

     

    The depository could also hold deposits of gold and other precious metals from financial institutions, cities, school districts, businesses, individuals and countries.

     

    “This will allow for bullion to be deposited here, as well as any other investments that … any state agencies, businesses or individuals have,” Capriglione said.

     

    Storage fees will be charged, perhaps generating revenue for the state. For instance, Texas pays about $1 million a year to store its gold in New York, Capriglione said.

     

    A fiscal note attached to the bill states that the depository will have “an indeterminate fiscal impact” on the state, depending on the number of transactions and fees, but says it’s too early to determine the extent.

     

    “It’s unusual,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University. “So far as I know, there are no states with bullion depositories.”

    Perhasps the fact that Texas doesn't trust New York suggests the unitedness of the states is starting to quake and surely "the idiocy of the political cycle" has only got worse...

    This is Capriglione’s second attempt to create the depository.

     

     

    "buying gold is just buying a put against the idiocy of the political cycle. It's that simple."

    Sounds like Texas - just like Austria, Germany, Russia, and China to name just four - no longer trusts the status quo.

     

     

    Two years ago, then-Gov. Rick Perry was on board, saying work was moving forward on “bringing gold that belongs to the state of Texas back into the state.”

     

    “If we own it,” Perry has said, “I will suggest to you that that’s not someone else’s determination whether we can take possession of it back or not.”

     

    In 2013, the Legislature ended before Capriglione could win approval of the bill.

     

    Jillson said the bill’s sentiment is consistent with the anti-federal approach that conservative lawmakers have taken this year. “It’s in line with the idea that Texas is exceptional and needs to keep a distance from the federal government that respects individual states’ depositories,” he said.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-06-01/kyle-bass-was-right-texas-create-own-bullion-depository-repatriate-1-billion-gold

Edited June 1, 2015 by Butifldrm