Restore Sound Money in Arkansas With HB 1918

Why it Matters

URGENT: The Arkansas House of Representatives voted 89-1 in favor of HB 1918, which would be a major step toward restoring sound, constitutional money. This important bill now heads to the state Senate for consideration. Contact your state senator, and urge him or her to support HB 1918.

Members of the Arkansas General Assembly are seeking to enact legislation helping restore sound money and enforce the U.S. Constitution’s monetary provisions.

House Bill 1918 (HB 1918) is sponsored by Representative Mindy McAlindon (R-Centerton). If enacted, it would expand the state’s existing precious-metal legal-tender law to explicitly allow payments to and from state and local governments in precious metals.

HB 1918 is an excellent step toward enforcing the Constitution’s monetary provisions. Article I, Section 10, of the U.S. Constitution plainly states that “No State shall … make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” It’s long overdue that states begin to enforce this provision once again.

Additionally, this bill is an important step toward nullifying the unconstitutional Federal Reserve, which has a monopoly on money, and also reducing Alabama’s financial dependence on the federal government. It will also help Arkansas avoid a potential “central bank digital currency,” which severely threatens privacy and individual freedom.

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution obligates state officials to uphold the Constitution and nullify all laws not “made in Pursuance” of it. Officials at all levels of government must push back against the federal government’s many unconstitutional laws and agencies, and robustly enforce the Constitution and only those laws “made in Pursuance thereof.” HB 1918 is a good model for other states to follow.

Urge your state senator to support HB 1918 and to fully restore sound money in Arkansas.