Members of the Montana Legislature are seeking to enact legislation helping restore sound money and enforce the U.S. Constitution’s monetary provisions.
House Bill No. 382 (HB 382), titled the “Specie Legal Tender Act,” is introduced by Representative Tom Millett (R-Marion) and 15 other representatives.
On February 17, the House Business and Labor Committee passed HB 382, sending it to the full House for consideration.
If enacted, HB 382 would officially recognize specie (including gold and silver) as legal tender — thus bringing Montana closer to constitutional compliance and treating gold and silver as money. Furthermore, HB 382 includes a provision that would allow non-U.S.-minted gold and silver coins to be recognized as legal tender, further weakening Fed control. It would also specifically exclude a central bank digital currency (CBDC) from being considered legal tender.
HB 382 is a great first 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 Montana’s financial dependence on the federal government. It will also help Montana 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 382 is an excellent model for other states to follow.
Urge your state representative and senator to support and pass the Specie Legal Tender Act (HB 382) and to fully restore sound money in Montana.
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