Noem vetoes state bill that would exclude Bitcoin from being considered money
SDakota Governor Kristi Noem vetoed Republican legislation that would have excluded cryptocurrency from being considered money, a move that could have hurt the cryptocurrency economy in the state.
The legislation, HB 1193, was passed by the South Dakota House and Senate last month. The bill would have redefined money as a form of exchange that was “authorized or adopted by a domestic or foreign government.” It also stated that money could not be an “electronic record” used for exchange until the government authorized it.
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Noem quickly moved to veto the legislation, stating that it could harm South Dakotan business interests.
“By expressly excluding cryptocurrencies as money, it would become more difficult to use cryptocurrencies,” Noem wrote in his veto letter. “By unnecessarily limiting this freedom, HB 1193 would put South Dakota citizens at a business disadvantage.”
I VETOED HB 1193. This bill adopts a definition of “money” to specifically exclude crypto like Bitcoin. And that opens the door to the risk that the federal government could adopt a digital central bank currency.
South Dakota will always stand for economic freedom. pic.twitter.com/yqN2mPPaLj
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) March 10, 2023
“By defining ‘money’ in this proposed way, HB 1193 opens the door to the risk that the federal government could easily adopt a digital central bank currency, which could become the only viable digital currency,” Noem added. “At this time, no such state-backed electronic currency has been created. It would be negligent to create regulations governing something that does not yet exist. More importantly, South Dakota should not open the door to a potential future overreaction by the federal government .”
Members of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers, praised Noem’s decision.
“I think Governor Noem is showing the rest of the country what freedom really means,” state Rep. Tina Mulally told the newspaper. Washington Examiner.
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The legislation in question was ostensibly mundane but had been pushed by local banks to gain traction, Mulally said.
While Noem’s veto is a significant setback for the legislation, Mulally notes that the Legislature could challenge the decision in an upcoming March 27 vote.
