Members of the Utah Legislature are seeking to enact legislation helping restore sound money and enforce the U.S. Constitution’s monetary provisions.
House Bill 348 (HB 348) has been introduced for the 2024 session. If enacted in its originally introduced form, it would make several modifications to Utah’s existing sound-money laws that encourage the use of gold and silver as legal tender. Most importantly, HB 348 would expand the state’s definition of “specie legal tender” to include gold and silver coins not minted by the U.S. government. This would further weaken the Federal Reserve’s control over currency in the United States.
On March 21, 2024, Governor Spencer Cox signed HB 348 into law. However, the version that he signed, and that the Legislature passed, was significantly weaker and narrower in scope than when originally introduced. The law went into effect on May 1.
HB 348 is a major 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 Utah’s financial dependence on the federal government. It will also help Utah avoid the federal government’s planned “Central Bank Digital Currencies,” which severely threaten 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 348 is an excellent model for other states to follow.
Urge your state representative and senator to support HB 348 and to fully restore sound money in Utah.
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